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History of Maryland, 



BY 



JAMES McSHERRY. 



Edited and Continued by 

BARTLETT B. JAMES, Ph. D. (Johns Hopkins) 
WESTERN MARYLAND COLLEGE. 



Author of "The Labadist Colony in Maryland,''^ "History of The Women of ^ 
Great Britain," "The Colonization of Nenv England." 



Baltimore: 

THE BALTIMORE BOOK CO. 

1904. 



/ VI ■ ( 



LIBR*irr of CONGRESS 
Two CoDles Received 

AUG 17 1904 

joi-oo?. 1 . ( 0) 5 3 
CLASS CL XXo. No. 

4 9 c 9 

COPY B I 



Copyright 

nv 

THE BALTIMORE BOOK COMPANY. 

1904. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



The editor of the work which it is the purpose of these brief 
preliminary words to present to the public for its suflferance and, it 
is hoped, a measure of satisfaction, has held in mind during his labors 
certain facts which he conceived to be fundamental in his undertaking. 

Conformity of style and literary usage was regarded as important. 
Following the line of least resistance, he undertook to adapt the style 
of Mr. McSherry to that of his own rather than to affect a manner 
of writing which to him would have been forced and unnatural, and 
certainly to the reader clumsy and unrewarding. Numerous verbal 
changes have therefore been made throughout the text. A certain 
fulsomeness which appears especially in the eulogies in the work has 
been corrected. These and similar literary changes embrace the 
greater part of the exercise of the editorial function up to the chapter 
which relates to the close of the Revolutionary War. From that 
period to the end of the work the story was too meager to have linked 
to it the great subsequent events of Maryland's history. It thus became 
necessary to rewrite the work from that point, although in so doing 
everything of the author's has found incorporation, although not 
always in situ. A comparison with the original work will show the 
large extetit of the amplification which was found to be necessary. 

The part of the book for which the writer is wholly responsible 
he would prefer to submit without a word other than one of acknowl- 
edgment of indebtedness to the authors to whom he makes reference 
in his foot notes ; especially those who have illuminated particular 
facts of Maryland's history by scholarly monographs. 

To Mr. William Morse Keener, LL. B., he makes grateful ac- 
knowledgment for services in the reading of proof and otherwise 
relieving him of irksome features of his task. 

If the complete history of Maryland herewith offered to the reader 

shall be found a fairly satisfactory treatment of its subject and shall 

fill a mission of usefulness in enlarging popular knowledge of the 

State's great past and shall serve to inculcate patriotic sentiments in 

the rising generation he shall feel that he has not worked in vain. 

Bartlett Burleigh James. 
Baltimore, April 20, 1904. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 

The discovery of America in 1492,' by Christopher Co- 
lumbus, at a time when the chivalry of Spain was in its 
brightest and latest glory, threw open to the brave spirits 
fresh from the conquest of Granada, and the victorious battle 
fields of Italy, a new world, full of wild adventures, of novel 
wonders, and teeming, in their fancies, with measureless 
riches. The graceful forms of a strange race, whose com- 
plexions were tinted with the hues of the sun, the gorgeous 
specimens of their wealth and their works of art, displayed 
before the admiring court of Ferdinand and Isabella, turned 
all hearts towards this El Dorado of the west; and the dis- 
covery of the beautiful isles of the great gulf, was followed 
by the conquest of Mexico and of Peru by the exploration 
through the swamps of Florida and the plains of Louisiana 
in quest of the fabled waters of perpetual life — expeditions 
wilder than any ever sketched out before in the fancy of the 
novelist, or the song of the minstrel, sometimes crowned with 
success, ofttimes disastrous in the extreme. 

The rich mines of the south, its fertile soil spontaneously 
producing alike the necessaries and luxuries of life ; its beau- 
tiful sky and its balmy air, similar to, but surpassing their 
own, allured the Spaniard and the Portugese, who never once 
turned their steps to the colder climate and the temperate skies 
of a more northern latitude; a century passed before another 
I'ace, from a congenial land, shaped their course towards that 
people, excelling in wealth, in freedom, in the arts, the dwell- 
ers in the more enervating countries of the south. 

5 



6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

But the one was fostered and cherished by the blasting 
kindness of a royal hand — the other grew up, untended and 
unheeded, breasting the storms, providing for its own safety, 
protecting itself and gaining from use the strength of man- 
hood, even in its early infancy. The Spaniards cast their lot 
amongst a semi-civilized race, whom they subdued, and with 
whom they intermingled their blood ; and became a royal gov- 
ernment over a conquered people. The English came to build 
up their empire in a wild, uncultivated forest, with a savage 
foe around them. Thus it was that the mingled race of the 
north, composed, as in time it came to be, of many different 
peoples, gathered the best features from each. The colo- 
nists of Spain, carefully nursed by the crown, and swaddled 
into weakness and effeminacy, deteriorated by commingling 
with an inferior race. 

Scarcely had the report of the wonderful discoveries of 
Columbus reached the court of Henry the Seventh, of England, 
before the spirit of adventure awoke in that kingdom, and an 
expedition was planned by a citizen of Venice, domiciled in 
England, Giovanni Caboto — or John Cabot, as he is usually 
called — for the purpose of exploring a more convenient route 
to the Indies, a portion of which the recent Spanish acquisi- 
tions were supposed to be. Many delays occurred from the 
want of sufficient aid to undertake the voyage, and it was not 
until a short time before the death of John Cabot that the. 
king consented to further the enterprise, by issuing his license, 
dated on the 3d of February, 1498, authorizing him " to seize 
upon six English ships in any port or ports of the realm of 
England, of 200 tons burthen or under, with their requisite 
apparatus, &c."* Upon the death of his father, Sebastian 
Cabot applied to the king for assistance to carry out the de- 
sign. He was furnished with one ship at the royal expense ;- 
while three or four more were fitted out by the merchants of 
Bristol. In May, 1498, the fleet weighed anchor, and after 
several weeks sailing due west, discovered land, which they 



* Bozman's Maryland, vol. i, p. 12. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 7 

called Newfoundland. A few days after, they made another 
island, which they named St. John. Still pursuing a western 
course, Cabot reached the main land, just in season to contest 
with the Spanish navigators the honor of having first touched 
the Continent of America. He coasted along the newly dis- 
covered shores as far south as the thirty-eighth degree of 
north latitude, when his provisions falling short, and a mutiny 
breaking out among the sailors, he was compelled to put about 
and steer for England, where he arrived in safety. It is highly 
probable that Cabot, in this voyage, discovered and touched 
upon the Atlantic coast of Maryland, which lies within the 
thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth degrees. The eastern shore of 
Worcester county was, therefore, the last portion of the con- 
tinent which he visited. Several abortive attempts were made 
to follow up the discoveries of Cabot, but during the remainder 
of the reign, the spirit of enterprise appeared to have died 
away, or turned to other objects. In the meanwhile, the French, 
Spanish and Portugese prosecuted their discoveries with un- 
abated zeal and complete success. Giovanni Verazzini, a" 
Florentine, in the service of France, made three voyages of 
discovery along the coast of North America, the second of 
which, in 1524, afterwards became famous, as the foundation 
of much of the French claims to their extensive possessions 
in the New World. But the only interest which these ex- 
plorations have to the student of Maryland history, lies in the 
fact that the Florentine was the second navigator who passed 
along the shores of that state, and the first to cross the mouth of 
the Chesapeake. The bay itself was discovered in 1585 by 
Governor Lane of the first colony of Virginia. Yet this vast 
inlet was not traversed for some years. It is said that Captain 
Bartholomew Gilbert, in 1603, was the first to enter and ex- 
plore it. 

Somewhat more than a century passed, from the discovery 
of North America by Cabot, before any successful attempt 
was made by the English to colonize it. These enterprises 
are, to a certain extent, connected with the history of Mary- 
land, and therefore need to be touched on here. In the 



8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

year 1606 the London and Plymouth Companies were formed 
and, by letters patent issued on the tenth day of April in that 
year, the portion of the Continent lying between the thirty- 
fourth and forty-fifth degrees north latitude, was granted to 
them in nearly equal shares, — the territory from the first- 
mentioned degree to the forty-first being assigned to the Lon- 
don, and from the thirty-eighth to the forty-fifth to the Plym- 
outh Company ; and, as by this provision there was a territory 
of three degrees in extent which was common to both, it was 
further specified, that the party who first settled within this 
region, thus overlapped by the two grants, should possess the 
coast fifty miles each way from the point of settlement, and 
one hundred miles to the interior, while no settlement was to 
be made by the other company within one hundred miles 
thereof. 

The London Company immediately began their prepara- 
tions, which, although they were completed somewhat later 
than those of the Plymouth Company, were productive of 
greater results. The fleet consisting of a vessel of one hun- 
dred tons, one of forty and one of twenty, with one hundred 
and five colonists on board, set sail from Blackwall, on the 
Thames, on the 19th of December, 1606, under the command 
of Capt. Christopher Newport.* He carried sealed instructions 
which were not to be opened until his arrival in Virginia. 
After encountering many difficulties and delays, the ships had 
nearly reached their destination at Roanoke, when on the 26th 
of April, they were driven by a violent storm into the Ches- 
apeake. Here Captain Newport opened his instructions, which 
provided for a council of seven for the government of the 
colony. In the early part of Mny they began to explore the 
James river, and having received a beautiful peninsula from 
an Indian chief, they laid the foundation of Jamestown on the 
13th of May, 1607. 

The new colonists suffered much from scarcity of pro- 
visions, frequent attacks of the savages, and internal dissen- 



Bozman, vol. i, p. 99. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 9 

sions; and, but for the prudence and energy of Capt. John 
Smith, would very probably have met with the same evil fate 
which befell former settlements. At length, however, the 
arrival of two ships from England laden with supplies, re- 
lieved their present necessities and increased their numbers 
by seasonable reinforcements. But instead of seeking in the 
cultivation of the soil the true wealth of the earth, the Vir- 
ginians turned their whole attention to gathering cargoes of 
glittering sands for the returning ships. In vain Smith remon- 
strated ; the discovery of this imaginary gold had intoxicated 
them, and they scorned the humbler but surer resources of 
agriculture. The consequences were soon felt in a growing 
scarcity of food. 

Smith was not idle. Turning his eyes towards that vast 
inland sea near whose mouth they were situated, he judged 
rightly that an exploration of its shores would open extensive 
resources to the colonists, by means of trade with the Indians. 
On the 2d of June, 1608, in an open boat, accompanied by a 
physician. Dr. Russel, six gentlemen and seven soldiers, he 
departed from the fort at Jamestown on this daring expedi- 
tion. They boldly struck across the bay, and having discovered 
Smith's Islands, made the eastern shore, and were directed by 
two Indians whom they found there, to the habitation of the 
Werowance, or chief of their tribe, at Accomac. Departing 
thence, they examined many creeks and harbors, discovered 
some islands, which they named Russel's — now known as 
Watts' Islands, and after naming several points, at length 
reached the river Wighcocomo or Wighco, supposed to be the 
Pocomoke, whose mouth afterwards became the southern point 
of boundary in the charter of the province of Maryland. After 
suffering from lack of water, and being driven about by storms, 
they entered the Nanticoke river, called by the Indians Cuska- 
rawaock, where the natives assembled in large numbers to 
oppose their landing. A few shots proved sufficient to dis- 
perse them. In the course of several days, however, a good 
understanding was established and the Indians vied with each 
other in supplying the wants of the strangers, considering a 



lo HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

few beads an ample remuneration for all they could bestow. 
Not satisfied with the appearance of the eastern shore, they 
passed out through Hooper's straits, or the Straits of Limbo, 
as they named them, and stood directly for the cliffs on the 
western coast, along which they sailed thirty leagues north- 
ward, finding no inhabitants. They were now some distance 
above the Patapsco, which river they described as navigable 
for ships, and named Bolus, supposing the red and white 
earth upon the banks to be bole armoniack. They had al- 
ready been in their open boat fourteen days, and their pro- 
visions were much damaged by water, and the men them- 
selves, worn out with laboring at the oars, besought their 
captain to return. He succeeded in persuading them to con- 
tinue the exploration three or four days ; at the end of which 
time several of the men falling sick, and the complaints of 
the remainder becoming louder, Smith, after having reached 
as far north as Poole's Island, steered towards the south. On 
the 1 6th of June they discovered the Potowmac, or Patawomek, 
up which they sailed about thirty miles, where after meeting 
with a hostile reception, they landed on the Virginia shore. 
From this place, about Nominy Bay, they continued up the 
river, touching at various points, until they had passed the 
present site of Washington, " having gone as high as they 
could in their boat." Here they were met by savages in canoes, 
loaded with the flesh of deer, bears and other animals, of 
which they obtained a portion. After many adventures, they 
reached Jamestown in safety, on the 21st of July, one month 
and nineteen days from the date of their departure. 

Not satisfied with the results of his expedition, the in- 
defatigable Smith fitted out another, being accompanied by 
most of those who had been with him on the first. They set 
out on the 24th of July, 1608, and made directly towards the 
mouth of the Patapsco. Thence they proceeded to the head 
of the bay and explored the entrances of the Susquehanna, 
Northeast, Elk, and Sassafras rivers. The banks of the Sus- 
quehanna and the Sassafras or as Smith called it the Togh- 
wogh, they found inhabited. On the bay they met seven or 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. ii 

eight canoes of Massawomek Indians who prepared to assault 
them ; they, however, by signs, obtained an amicable confer- 
ence. They sailed up the Sassafras, where the natives received 
them with the greatest kindness, danced before them, and of- 
fered them fruits and furs. There they learned that the 
Susquehannas, residing on the river of the same name, were 
considered to be the most warlike and powerful tribe of that 
region. Having fully explored the head of the bay, and the 
Susquehanna as far as they could penetrate, which was to the 
point called Smith's Falls, they returned to Virginia after an 
absence of three months.* In 1620, the bay was again ex- 
plored by Mr. John Pory, who visited several towns belonging 
to the savages inhabiting its shores.f 

The Virginia Company, having become dissatisfied with 
their charter, petitioned the king for a new one, which was 
accordingly issued on the 23d of May, a. d. 1609. By it the 
king granted and confirmed to them " all those lands, countries 
and territories, situate, lying and being in that part of Amer- 
ica, from Point Comfort all along the sea coast northward two 
hundred miles," and to the same extent southward, " and all 
that space and circuit of land lying from the sea coast of the 
precinct aforesaid, up into the land throughout, from sea to 
sea, west and north-west, and all the islands lying within one 
hundred miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct 
aforesaid." 

Three years after, in 161 2, finding new powers necessary, 
the Company applied for a third charter, which was issued to 
them on the 12th of March, 1611-12 and was confirmatory of 
the second charter. Disputes having arisen in the Company, 
the crown became hostile to its continuance, and a writ of 
quo warranto was issued against it in November, 1623. In 
May, 1624, judgment was given against the Company in 
King's Bench, and its charters forfeited. The administration 
of its affairs was taken tmder the immediate control of the 



* Smith in Bozman — the notes of Bozman upon him, vol. i, pp. 105 

to 133- 
flbid., p. 148. 



12 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

crown, the settlement reduced to a royal government, and a 
commission issued by the king to a provisional council for the 
direction of its affairs. Thus the extensive territory, hereto- 
fore granted to the late London Company, reverted to the 
crown and became the subject of grants for the erection of 
new provinces. 

Among those who had become interested in the London 
or Virginia Compan}?^, under its second charter, in 1609, was 
Sir George Calvert. He had been educated at Trinity College, 
Oxford, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 
1597 and finished his education by a tour on the Continent. 
On his return he obtained an office at the court, under Sir 
Robert Cecil, one of the principal secretaries of state. In 
1617 he was knighted by the king, having been appointed one 
of the clerks of the privy council. In 1619 he became one of 
the secretaries of state, an office which he filled with honor 
to himself and great profit to his sovereign, whose high esti- 
mate of his services was proved by the grant of a pension of 
one thousand pounds a year, which he bestowed upon him in 
1620. In the warm debates in the House of Commons, where 
he represented, first Yorkshire, in I620, and, subsequently, the 
University of Oxford he aKvays maintained the rights and 
protected the interests of the king, and that monarch, after- 
wards, did not fail to prove his grateful recollection of his 
loyalty. Sir George Calvert had early engaged in the schemes 
of colonization of that period, and upon the dissolution of the 
Virginia Company, of which he had been a member, he was 
named by the king one of the royal commissioners to whom 
the goverrmient of that colony was confided. 

Up to this time he had been a Protestant, but in 1624, 
having become unsettled in his religious convictions, he re- 
nounced the Church of England, and embraced the faith of the 
Catholic church. Moved by conscientious scruples, he deter- 
mined no longer to hold the office of secretary of state, which 
would make him, in a manner, the instrument of persecution 
against those whose faith he had adopted, and tendered his 
resignation to the king, informing him that "he was now be- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 13 

come a Roman Catholic, so that he must be wanting in his 
trust or violate his conscience in discharging his office." The 
king was moved by his honest avowal, and while he accepted 
his resignation, continued him as a member of his privy coun- 
cil for life, and soon after created him Lord Baltimore, of 
Baltimore in Ireland. ^^ ^^^ C/i^vC't.K 

The laws against the Catholics in England were particti- 
larly severe, and rendered it impossible for such persons to 
practice their religion in quiet and safety. Sir George Calvert, 
although he was assured of protection from the gratitude and 
affection of the king, determined to seek another land and to 
found a new state, where conscience should be free and every 
man might worship God in peace and perfect security.* It 
was a grand and noble design, and he set about perfecting 
it. At first he fixed his eyes on Newfoundland, in the settle- 
ment of which he had been interested. Having purchased a 
ship, he sailed with his family to that island in which, a few 
years before, he had obtained a grant of a province under the 
name of Avalon.** Here he only resided two years, when 
finding the climate and soil unsuited for the establishment of 
a flourishing community, he determined to seek a more genial 
country in the south. Accordingly, in 1628, he sailed to Vir- 
ginia,! with the intention of settling within the limits of that 
colony, or more probably to explore the uninhabited country 
on its borders, in order to secure a grant of it from the king. 
Upon his arrival within the jurisdiction of the colony, the 
authorities tendered him the oaths of allegiance and suprem- 
acy, to which, as then framed, he could not conscientiously 
subscribe. Lord Baltimore refused to take them, but prepared 
a form of oath of allegiance which he and all his followers 
were willing to accept. His proposal was rejected, and being 
compelled to leave their waters, he explored the Chesapeake 



* McMahon, 193: . 

** A. D. 1623, Bozman, vol. i, p. 240. 

t McMahon, 193. 



14 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

above the settlements.^ He was pleased with the beautiful 
and well-wooded country, which surrounded the noble inlets 
of the great bay ; and determined there to found his principal- 
ity, assured that he had selected a territory possessing all the 
elements of future prosperity — fertile in soil, tra\->ersed by 
majestic rivers, and enjoying a climate unsurpassed upon the 
continent. He returned to England to obtain a grant from 
Charles I, who had succeeded his father, James I. Remem- 
bering his services to his house, Charles directed the patent 
to be issued. It was prepared by Lord Baltimore himself; 
but before it was finally executed, that great and good man 
died, and the patent was delivered to his son Cecilius, who 
succeeded as well to his noble designs, as to his titles and 
estates. 

The charter was issued on the 20th of June, 1632, and 
the nev/ province, in honor of Queen Henrietta Maria, was 
named Terra Marios — Maryland. 

The charter was a grant from the king to Lord Baltimore, 
and his heirs and assigns, of all the territory lying within 
the limits set forth, with extensive jurisdiction and powers of 
government over it. The rights of the settler were fully pro- 
vided for in this instrument. The power of making laws was 
jointly vested in the people or their representatives, and the 
lord Proprietary — the title conferred upon Lord Baltimore — 
although extraordinary power was reserved to the latter, or 
his governor, in cases of sudden emergency, when the people 
or their delegates could not be well assembled. The province 
was forever exempted from taxation by the crown, except with 
its own consent, and many other important privileges v/ere 
secured. The eclesiastical laws of England with regard to 
churches and chapels, in so far as they related to the matters 
of consecration and presentation were extended to the colony, 
but the question of state religion was left untouched, and 
therefore within the legislative power of the colonists them- 
selves. The king reserved to himself one-fifth of the gold and 
silver which might be found in the province, and the yearly 



JBozman, vol. i, pp. 255-258; McMahon, 9. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 15 

tribute of two Indian arrows. Having thus a noble territory, 
with his rights and the prosperity of his future state secured 
by a liberal charter, Lord Baltimore prepared to establish his 
first settlement in Maryland. He fitted out two vessels, which 
he named the "Ark" and the "Dove," and collected a body of 
two hundred emigrants, nearly all of whom were Catholics 
and gentlemen of fortune and respectability, who desired, like 
himself, as had his father, to flee from the spirit of intolerance 
which pervaded England, and to rear their altars in freedom 
in the wilderness.* The colonists were accompanied by two 
Jesuit priests, Fathers Andrew White and John Altham, and 
were placed under the command of Leonard Calvert, whom his 
brother, the Lord Proprietary, had appointed Governor of 
Maryland, intending to remain in England for the present 
to superintend in person the interests of the settlement in its 
infancy, and to send out additional emigrants. 



*Burnap; Bozman; McMahon. 

t Relatio Itineris in Marylandiam — Bozman, vol. 2, p. 26. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND. 

"On the 22d day of November, 1633, being St. Cecilia's 
day, the 'Ark' and the 'Dove' weighed anchor from Cowes, 
in the Isle of Wight." The pious pilgrims " placed their 
ships under the protection of God, imploring the intercession 
of the Blessed Virgin, of St. Ignatius, and all the guardian 
angels of Maryland,"* for the success of the great enterprise 
which they had undertaken. They left behind them the homes, 
in which they had been born, their friends and relatives, to 
face the dangers of the sea, and the perils and hardships of a 
wilderness, in order to plant the seed of freedom and religious 
liberty ; to secure to themselves and their chilrden the ines- 
timable privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates 
of their consciences. It was a mighty undertaking; standing 
out, in history, as an era in the progress of mankind. 

The pilgrims narrowly escaped the Needles, a series of 
breakers at the extremity of the Isle of Wight, but, relying 
on the protection of God, they drove boldly out to sea under 
a strong and steady breeze. No sooner had they escaped this 
peril, than the fear of capture by the Turks, whose cruisers 
were then a terror to all Christian nations, kept them in con- 
stant alarm for the safety of the "Dove," which was neither 
so good a sailer, nor so well manned and armed as the "Ark." 
After a time they were joined by a London merchantman, the 
"Dragon," well armed, and bound for Angola, and, thus being 
relieved by the strength of their fleet from all fear of danger, 
they continued their voyage in high spirits, " making the air 
and sky resound with the clangor of trumpets." 



* Relatio Itin., &c. Father White's manuscript is the authority for 
this whole chapter. 16 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 17 

On the evening of the 25th of November, the wind veered 
around to the north, and a violent storm arose. The crew 
of the Dragon, fearing to encounter its full furv, changed 
their course and steered for England, while the company on 
board the Dove, dreading the effect of the furious tempest 
upon their little bark, yet unwilling to abandon the enterprize, 
notified the officers of the larger vessel that if thev were in 
danger of .shipwreck, they would haijg out a light' from the 
mast head. The captain of the Ark, knowing the strength of 
his vessel, bore steadily on his course. In the middle of the 
night the storm increased in violence, and the crew of the 
larger vessel, beheld with dismay two lights suspended from 
the mast head of the pinnace. But they were unable to afford 
their comrades any assistance; and, in a few moments, these 
lights disappeared, and with sorrowful hearts they gave up 
the little Dove, and her gallant crew, as lost. When morning 
at length broke over their long and dreary night, there was no 
sign or vestige of the Dove upon the waters. The storm 
still raged with somewhat diminished fury, and during the 
three succeeding days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 
the Ark was tossed about by contrary winds, making little 
headway. At length, on the night of the third day, the rain 
began to descend in torrents, and a sudden blast of the tempest 
split the mainsail from top to bottom. The vessel, having 
unshipped her rudder, was driven about at the mercy of the 
waves. The minds of the bravest were filled with fear, for 
the Ark seemed about to be engulfed in the raging billows 
The pilgrims betook themselves to prayer; and many strove^ 
by the sacrament of penance, to prepare themselves to meet the 
fate which now seemed inevitable. But the violence of the 
storm began to abate. At length the sea became calm, and the 
remainder of the voyage, which extended through a period of 
three months, was pleasant and prosperous.* 

After passing the Madeira Islands, the pilgrims became 
alarmed at the appearance of three supicious looking vessels, 
which were bearing down towards them. The captain imme- 

* Narratio Itineris, &c. 



i8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

diately cleared his ship for action, but the supposed pirates 
soon changed their course and disappeared. They continued 
on their voyage, and touched at the Fortunate, or as they 
are now called, the Canary Islands. The governor consulted 
with the principal officers and gentlemen as to the best mode 
of loading the ship with a return cargo, so as to repay part 
of the expenses of the expedition, which had been borne 
entirely by Lord Baltimore. At first they determined to steer 
for St. Christopher's, then changed their destination towards 
Bonavista, one of the Cape de Verde Islands, and a great mart 
for salt ; but after sailing two hundred miles, fearing their pro- 
visions would fall short, they altered their course for the Bar- 
badoes, where they arrived on the 5th of January, 1634, O. S. 
Their reception was cold and inhospitable, and the people 
demanded extravagant prices for the provisions which they 
desired to purchase. They now learned that a Spanish fleet 
way lying at Bonavista, and that, had they persisted in their 
original intention, their capture would have been certain. At 
the Barbadoes, too, a conspiracy amongst the slaves to mas- 
sacre their masters, and to seize the first ship which should 
touch at the island, had just been discovered. Theirs being 
the first, would have fallen a sacrifice but for the timely dis- 
covery of this plot. 

There was yet one dark cloud hanging over their pros- 
perity — the disappearance of the pinnace. Imagine, then, 
their joy when she bore in sight after a separation of six 
weeks. On the night of the terrific storm which parted them, 
the Dove, after having shown her signal, no longer able to 
breast the storm, had changed her course and taken refuge in 
the Scilly Islands, whence, the ship Dragon bearing her com- 
pany as far as the Bay of Biscay, she sailed in pursuit of the 
Ark, and at length overtook her at the Antilles. 

On the night of the 24th of January they weighed anchor 
and departed from the Barbadoes. The next day they passed 
St. Lucia, and in the evening arived at Matalina, where they 
saw several canoes of cannibals, who they were told had lately 
eaten some English interpreters. The day after, they reached 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 19 

Montserrat. They were kindly entertained at St. Christopher's 
by the governor and two captains, and were also treated with 
great hospitality by the governor of the French colony in the 
same island. At length, on the 24th of February, they came 
in sight of Point Comfort in Virginia. They were now ap- 
proaching the end of their wanderings. Yet this joyful pros- 
pect was somewhat clouded by the fear of hostility on the 
part of the Virginians, who were resolutely opposed to Lord 
Baltimore's design. But the royal letters, which they bore 
with them, secured them a favorable reception from the gov- 
ernor, and, after spending eight or nine days in that colony, 
they again set sail on the 3d of March, steering for the mouth 
of the Potomac, to which they gave the name of St. Gregory. 
They had now arrived in the land of their adoption, and they 
were delighted with the wide expanse of the noble bay, and 
the majestic river, upon whose shores they were about to rear 
an empire. On the banks of the Potomac they found mighty 
forests stretching as far as the eye could reach; a soil rich 
and fertile. The air was sweet and balmy, although it was 
now in the month of March. They returned thanks to God 
for the beautiful land which he had given them. 

On the beach they beheld, during the day, groups of 
armed natives prepared to resist their landing, and at night 
they saw innumerable alarm fires kindled throughout the 
country as signals to the savage tribes, while messengers 
passed from one to the other far into the interior, carrying 
the strange tidings " that canoes, as big as an island, had 
brought as many men as there were trees in the forest." In 
spite of these demonstrations of apparent hostility, they suc- 
ceeded in establishing confidence in the breasts of the natives ; 
and having satisfied them that their intentions were peaceful, 
purchased from them the territory which they required. Mary- 
land's settlement was not marked by the shedding of the blood 
of the natives. 

The ships now approached the Heron Islands, on one of 
which, St, Clements — thought to be Blackstone's Island — 
the colonists determined to land, and, although the island was 



20 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

too small for a settlement, to build a strong fort for their 
protection in case of any outbreak. On the feast of " the 
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin," being the 25th of March, 
in the year 1634, they took solemn possession of the soil 
of Maryland and offered up the holy sacrifice for the first 
time within its borders. Mass was celebrated and the pilgrims 
formed in procession, led by Governor Leonard Calvert, the 
secretary, and the other officers, carrying on their shoulders 
a huge cross, hewn from a tree, which they erected with reli- 
gious exercises. Under such auspices was begun the found- 
ing of Maryland. 

The chief of the Piscataways was the most powerful in 
that region, and had many sachems and tribes subject to him. 
The governor, Leonard Calvert, therefore determined to visit 
him and secure his friendship. With the Dove and another 
small pinnace, which he had purchased in Virginia, he set out 
with a portion of his men, accompanied by Father Altham, 
leaving the ship at anchor at St. Clements. As they advanced 
up the river, the Indians fled towards the interior. At length 
they reached a village on the Virginia side, named Potomac, 
after the river, and governed by Archihu, uncle of the king, 
yet a youth. Father Altham preached to the people and their 
chiefs. They listened with attention and replied to him 
through his interpreter. He told them that the pale faces had 
come neither to make war upon them nor to do them any 
wrong, but to instruct them in Christianity, to make them 
acquainted with the arts of civilized life, and to live with 
them like brothers. " You are welcome," replied the chief. 
Then Father Altham informed him that, as he had not the 
time to enter upon further discourse, he would return to visit 
him again. " It is good," said Archihu, " we will use one table 
' — my people shall hunt for my brother, and all things shall 
be in common between us." 

Having parted with this hospitable chief, Leonard Calvert 
ascended to Piscataway, where he found the natives armed, 
and assembled upon the shore to the number of five hundred, 
ready to dispute his landing. By means of signs, he contrived 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 21 

to make them understand that he came for peace and not for 
war, and at length, the chief or emperor ventured on board 
the pinnace. Satisfied of the peaceful intentions of the pil- 
grims, and pleased to have such skilful and powerful people 
for his allies, the chief granted them permission to settle within^ 
his territories. 

The savages about St. Clements soon became more famil- 
iar with the colonists, who were now busily engaged in putting 
together a brigantine, the planks and timbers of which they 
had brought out from England. 

The governor had brought with him, from Virginia, 
Captain Henry Fleet,* who was well acquainted with the 
Indian tribes and spoke their language. This man now di- 
rected them to a spot suitable for the site of a town, and, 
weighing anchor, the whole colony sailed from St. Clements. 
They entered the mouth of the St. Marys river, on the left 
bank of which was the village of King Yaocomico. On the 
right shore, about a thousand paces from the river, they 
selected a site, and having purchased from the Indians, in 
exchange for hatchets, axes, hoes and cloth, about thirty miles 
of territory, which they called "Augusta Caroline," now the 
county of St. Marys, they landed and began the founding of 
the city of St. Marys. 

The men on shore fired salutes in honor of the occasion, 
while salvos of artillery from the ships filled the hearts of 
the savQges with wonder and dismay. Thus with ceremonial 
the pilgrims took possession of the soil, which they had pur- 
chased from its native owners. This important event took 
place on the 27th of March, 1634,! and may be considered as 
the date of the actual settlement of the state, although it would 
seem, from the solemnities on the island of St. Clement, that 
the pilgrims intended on that day, being the feast of the An- 
nunciation, to take formal possession of the province of Mary- 
land. 



* The author of the " Relation " says Governor Calvert found him at 

Piscataway. 
t Bozman, vol. 2, p. 30. 



22 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Although the colonists had used every means to conciliate 
the Indians, they were aware of the danger of relying too 
implicitly on their variable natures, and their first work was to 
erect a guard house and store house. For the present the 
settlers found refuge in the rude huts of the Indians, who the 
more readily received them and sold them their villages and 
corn grounds, and their other territory, because, in order to 
escape the incursion of the Susquehannahs, they had deter- 
mined to remove their habitations to another region secure 
from their terrible enemy. Providence, says Father White, 
had prepared the way for the pilgrims, and the Indians began 
already to depart, giving up to them their huts and cultivated 
fields. The colonists had brought a large supply of provisions 
with them from England ; at the Barbadoes they had in- 
creased their stores, and they were now put in possession of 
arable land just in season to plant their corn for the coming^ 
crop. They immediately set about this necessary work, and 
the ensuing fall gathered so plentiful a crop that they were 
enabled, after providing for their own subsistence, to send ten 
thousand bushels to New England in exchange for salt fish 
and other provisions.* The woods abounded with game which 
the Indians taught them how to hunt, and the rivers and bay 
were full of fish and oysters. God had indeed bestowed upon 
the founders of Maryland a beautiful land, flowing with milk 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 32. The author of " A Relation of Maryland," 
says, they bought so much corn from the Indians, that they sent ijOOcr. 
bushels of it to New England. Winthrop says, that the " Dove," a 
pinnace of fifty tons from Maryland, brought corn to trade with the 
people of Plymouth colony, with letters from the governor and the 
commissioners of Maryland, proposing to open trade between the . 
colonies. It seems that quarrels broke out, between the crew of the 
Dove and the Puritans, and "the merchant" of the Dove (who after-, 
wards died before the pinnace left Plymouth) was taken into custody 
to secure the appearance of the sailors, who were charged with pro- 
fanity, &c., and summoned by the governor, on the advice of the min- 
isters, to answer these accusations. The proof against them, however, 
was insufificient, and they were discharged, with a reprimand to their 
captain. — The Author. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 23 

and honey, and had surrounded their path with blessings and 
promises of future prosperity and happiness. 

The huts of the Indians were of an oblong, oval form, 
nine or ten feet high, lighted by a hole in the roof, which also 
served as a vent for the smoke. They made their fire in the 
centre, and slept around it at night. The tents of the chiefs 
were larger and contained several apartments ; and were sup- 
plied with beds, made by poles laid across four stakes, which 
were driven in the ground — the whole covered with leaves 
or skins. One of these huts was given to Fathers White and 
Altham, and was fitted up by them to serve as the first church 
in Maryland. The Indians of the neighborhood were tall and 
comely, but disfigured themselves with paint. Their dress 
was a mantle of deer or other skins, falling from the shoulder, 
and an apron about the waist. Around their necks they wore 
strings of beads, and upon their foreheads the figure of a fish 
worked in copper. Their hair was gathered into one lock, tied 
with a fillet and ornamented with feathers. Their weapons 
were bows, and arrows barbed with horn or sharpened pieces 
of flint stone — heavy clubs of knotted wood hardened in the 
fire, spears pointed with flint stone heads, and stone axes with 
hickory branches twisted round them for handles. These 
spear and arrow heads, and axes, were worked smooth and 
to a sharp edge, and sometimes polished like marble. They 
were very skilful in the use of their arms, and the bow and 
arrow were in their hands no mean weapons. Their principal- 
food was Indian corn, which they prepared in several ways — • 
hominy and pone when the corn was ripe and sucotash and 
roasted ears when young and tender. Each of these modes 
the colonists borrowed with some little improvements. ' To 
these preparations they added fish, game and oysters ; besides, 
they had in proper season strawberries in immense quantities 
and nuts of every kind. Thus they lived in the midst of a 
simple abundance. They were of a noble disposition, grave, 
yet cheerful and kind ; generous with what they possessed ; 
frugal, avoiding intoxicating drinks ; chaste in their lives, con- 
siderate in forming resolutions, but firm in maintaining them 
when formed. 



24 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

They worshiped one God, but they also propitiated the 
evil spirit whom they called Okee. Corn and fire were adored 
as deities in the following manner. The people gathered from 
the different villages and formed a circle round a great fire, 
the younger persons in the inner row. They then cast a piece 
of deer's fat into the flame and, with uplifted hands, cried 
"Taho! Taho!" After this they cleared a space and a bag 
containing a pipe and a powder called "Po^^///* was produced. 
This bag was carried around the fire, the boys and girls sing- 
ing in the meanwhile " Taho ! Taho ! " The pipe and powder 
were then taken out and each one smoked a short time, breath- 
ing the vapor over his limbs to sanctify them. Father White 
says they seemed to have some faint tradition of the flood. 

Such were the peaceful and gentle Indians, who welcomed 
the early settlers of Maryland into their midst ; alike confer- 
ring and receiving favors. For if they sold the pilgrims their 
territory, taught them how to hunt the deer, to plant maize 
and prepare it for the table, and shared their huts and their 
daily food with their white brethren, the colonists explained 
to them the arts of civilized life, their priests unfolded to them 
the inestimable privileges of Christianity, and instructed and 
received many of them into the fold of Christ. f 



* Tobacco? 



t The above account is taken principally from Father White's Jour- 
nal, found in Rome by the Rev. Wm. McSherry, S. J., a manuscript 
copy of which was kindly furnished me from Georgetown College. 
The author of " A Relation " differs from Father White in some par- 
ticulars; his account is sufficientl}' interesting, to be inserted here 
somewhat at large. He says, they sailed from Point Comfort, in Vir- 
ginia, on the 3d of March, 1634, and two days after reached the Poto- 
mac, twenty-four leagues from Point Comfort ; and then sailed four- 
teen leagues up the river, " and came to anchor under an island, which 
they called St. Clement's." Possibly, then, the Maryland Pilgrims /irst 
landed in their future home on the 6th of March, 1634. 

After describing the governor's visit to Piscataway, the author pro- 
ceeds : — " While the governor was abroad, the neighboring Indians, 
where the ships lay, began to cast off fear, and to come to their court 
of guard, which they kept night and day upon St. Clement's isle, partly 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 25 

to defend their barge, which was brought in pieces out of England, and 
there made up, and partly to defend their men, which were employed 
in felling trees and cleaving pales for a palizado ; — and at last they 
ventured to come aboard the ship. The governor finding it not fit for 
many reasons to seat himself as yet so high up the river, resolved to 
return back again and take a more exact view of the lower parts ; — so, 
leaving the ship and pinnaces there, he took his barge, i(as most fit to 
search the creeks and small rivers) and was conducted by Capt. Henry 
Fleett, who knew well the country, to a river on the north side of 
Potomac river, within four or five leagues of the mouth thereof, which 
they called St. George's river. They went up this river about four 
leagues, and anchored at the town of Yaocomico — from whence the 
Indians of the country are called Yaocomicos. At their coming to this 
place, the governor went on shore, and treated friendly with the Wero- 
wance there, and acquainted him with the intent of his coming thither, 
to which he made little answer, (as it is their manner to any new and 
sudden question) but entertained him and his company, that night, in 
his house, and gave him his own bed to lie on (which is a mat laid 
on boards) and the next day went to show him the country; and that. 
day being spent in viewing the places about that towne, and the fresh 
waters, which there are very plentiful and excellent good (but the 
main rivers are salt) the governor determined to make the first colony 
there, and so gave orders for the ship and pinnaces to come thither. 

"To make his entry peaceable and just, he thought fit to present the 
Werowance and the Wizoes of the towne, with some English cloth, 
(such as is used in trade with the Indians) axes, houes (hoes) and 
knives, which they accepted very kindly, and freely gave consent that 
he and his company should dwell in one part of their towne, and 
reserved the other for themselves ; and those Indians that dwelt in that 
part of the towne which was allotted to the English, freely left them 
their houses and some corne that they had begun to plant. It was also 
agreed between them, that, at the end of harvest, they should leave 
the whole towne, which they did accordingly. And they made mutual 
promises to each other to live friendly and peaceably together, and if 
any injury should happen to be done on any part, that satisfaction- 
should be made for the same; and thus upon the 2/th day of March,, 
Anno Domini 1634, the governor took possession of the place and 
named the towne St. Maries. 

" Three days after their coming to Yaocomico the Arke with the two 
pinnaces arrived there. The Indians much wondered to see such ships 
and at the thundering of the ordnance when they came to anchor. The 
next day they began to prepare for their houses, and first of all a court 
of guard, and a store house; in the mean time they laid aboard the 
ships." (Then follows Governor Harvy's visit, as related in the text.) 



26 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

" After they had finished the store house and unladed the ship, the 
governor thought fit to bring the colony on shore, which were attended 
by all the gentlemen and the rest of the servants in armes — who re- 
ceived the colony with a volley of shot, which was answered by the 
ordnance from the ship. At this ceremony were present the Wero- 
wances of Patuxent and Yaocomico with many other Indians." 

(They buy one thousand bushels of corn and send to New England.) 

" Finding ground cleared they planted corne although late in the year, 
and made gardens which they sowed with English seeds of all sorts 
and they prospered exceeding well. 

" They procured from Virginia, hogges, poultry, cowes and some 
neat cattle. The hogges and poultry are already (1635) increased in 
Maryland, to a great stock, sufficient to serve the colony very plen- 
tifully." — The Author. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE PROTESTANT REVOLUTION. 

Shortly after the new settlement had been planted at 
St. Marys it was visited by Governor Harvey of Virginia. 
Governor Calvert received him with great ceremony, and for 
the purpose of conciliating the neighboring chiefs, gave him a 
banquet on board his ship to which he also invited them. The 
king of Patuxent was particularly friendly to the whites, and ■ 
to do him honor, he was seated between the two governors • 
at the table. An Indian, one of his subjects, coming into the 
cabin of the ship and perceiving his prince thus seated, was 
seized with the suspicion that some evil design was meditated 
against him ; nothing but the repeated assurances of the chief 
himself could prevent him from leaping overboard to carry 
the alarm to shore, which might have been productive of the 
most fatal consequences. However, when the feast was over \ 
and the king about to depart, he addressed the surrounding 
Indians and said: 'T love the English so well, that if they 
should go about to kill me, and I had so much breath as to 
speak, I would command the people not to avenge my death; 
for I know they would do no such thing, except it were 
through my own fault." 

Nothing could prove more plainly than this little incident 
how firmly knit was the friendship between the two races, and 
how different was the conduct of the settlers of Maryland 
towards the natives from that which characterized the people 
of many other colonies. Meanwhile the settlement continued 
to prosper, when suddenly a coolness became observable on 
the part of the natives in their immediate vicinity. This was 
the earliest evidence of the beginning of Claiborne's first re- 
bellion. 

27 



28 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Prior to the issuing of its charter, Maryland being in- 
cluded in the Hmits of the royal government of -Virginia, Cap- 
tain William Claiborne obtained from the governor and council 
of that province a license to trade with the Indians on the 
Chesapeake. He accordingly established a trading post upon 
Kent Island, and some time after, another at the mouth of the 
Susquehanna. Perhaps he had entertained a hope of enlarging 
his temporary occupation, and of securing a grant of it as 
proprietor. At all events, the charter to Lord Baltimore would 
destroy his trade, and he determined to resist it. No sooner 
had the settlers landed at St. Marys, than Claiborne, having 
received notice from Governor Calvert that if he remained 
he would be deemed a subject of the colony, applied to the 
council of Virginia, of which he was a member, for instruc- 
tions how to proceed.* This body, which had always opposed 
the grant to Lord Baltimore, and was secretly determined 
to support the claims of Claiborne, replied that they saw no 
reason why he should give up any territories which he held 
of them ; and, taking this for his pretext, he prepared to 
maintain his possessions. His first effort was to destroy the 
colony by means of the hostility of the Indians. For this 
purpose he began to insinuate suspicions into their minds, 
through the instrumentality of Fleet, the interpreter, whom 
he had seduced into his schemes, telling them that the Mary- 
land settlers were Spaniards, and his and their secret enemies.f 

Scarcely had the colony been planted a month at St. 
Marys when these insidious measures produced their effect in 
the jealousy which appeared in the conduct of the natives. 
Immediately all other works were suspended, and the settlers 
turned their whole attention to finishing a block-house for 
their protection in case of necessity, at the same time carefully 
regulating their conduct to the savages so as to dissipate their 
coldness and reawaken the old feelings of confidence and inti- 
macy. In six weeks the block-house was completed. But 
in the meanwhile their unchanging friendliness to the Indians 

* Bozman, 27-32, &c. 
t Ibid., 32. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 29 

had convinced them of the sincerity of their conduct and the 
falseness of the insinuations against them, and they gradually 
renewed the kindly relations which had formerly existed, and 
which were never again broken. The colonists once more 
returned to the work of building up their new city, and devoted 
the time from the finishing of their block-house to the ripening 
and gathering of their corn in erecting houses to replace the 
temporary huts of the Indians which they yet occupied. 

Claiborne, foiled in his first attempt, became desperate 
and resolved on open measures of hostility. His schemes 
were so far perfected that early in the year of 1635 he fitted 
out an armed pinnace with a crew of fourteen men under one 
of his adherents, Lieutenant Warren, to cruise against the 
colonists. Governor Calvert and his people met the crisis 
without hesitation, and two pinnaces were immediately armed 
and manned, and sent against the freebooters under the com- 
mand of Captain Cornwallis. They came within sight of War- 
ren's galley in the Pocomoke River on the eastern shore, and 
prepared for action, awaiting however the fire of the enemy. 
As they approached, the insurgents opened fire upon them 
and killed one of their men. But the fire was immediately 
returned with great effect and the galley was captured with 
the loss of three of her crew, one of whom was her com- 
mander, Lieutenant Warren. The survivors were carried pris- 
oners to St. Marys. Claiborne, who was not in the engage- 
ment, finding his armament destroyed, fled into Virginia, where 
he expected to find protection from those who had secretly 
supported him. But, determined to vindicate his authority 
and establish the rights of his brother, the Lord Proprietary, 
Governor Calvert despatched commissioners to Virginia to 
demand his person as a rebel and a traitor. His friends could 
only aid him so far as to have him sent to England by the 
governor, with the witnesses against him, that he might be 
tried there for the offence he had committed.* 

Under the charter the power of legislation was vested in 
Lord Baltimore and a majority of the colonists or their depu- 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 35. 



30 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ties, who were to be assembled by the governor. Accord- 
ingly, in the beginning of the year 1635, the freemen of the 
colony were conv-ened together at St. Marys. Of their pro- 
ceedings there is little known, as the greater portion of the 
public records were subsequently destroyed. But it may be 
presumed that as yet they were more busily engaged in perfect- 
ing and strengthening their town than with legislative cares. 

The Indians, in compliance with the conditions of their 
sale to the settlers, had as soon as their own crop of corn was 
gathered, departed from the town, and delivered it up entirely 
to the whites ; who, for the present, beset as they were by the 
intrigues of Claiborne, and fearful of trusting too implicitly 
to the faith of their allies, restricted their settlements to its. 
immediate vicinity. Within the city, lots of five and ten acres 
were granted to all who might apply for them, and tracts 
in the interior, ranging from one hundred to three thousand 
acres, in proportion to the number of settlers the person 
applying for them introduced into the colony : reserving 
thereon, however, a quit rent of twenty shillings for every 
thousand acres.* By these means, men of wealth and standing 
were induced to assist the growth of the province by bringing 
numerous emigrants from the mother country. 

Lord Baltimore still remained in England, superintending 
the interests of the colony and fostering emigration, when he 
received notice that the assembly of the freemen had passed 
certain laws which were sent to him for his approval. Believ- 
ing that the right of framing laws was vested in himself by 
the charter, he rejected them and set about preparing a com- 



* The first conditions were, in 1633, for every five persons between 
the ages of fifteen and sixty, two thousand acres of land, at a rent of 
four hundred pounds of wheat ; — for less than five persons, at the rate 
of one hundred acres for each man, one hundred for his wife and each 
servant, and fifty acres for each child under sixteen, at a rent of 
ten pounds of wheat for every fifty acres. In 1635, for every five 
men brought in, a grant was made of one thousand acres, at a rent 
of twenty shillings. Grants of one, two, and three thousand acres 
were erected into manors, with the right, to their owners, of holding 
courts leet and courts baron." — The Author. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 31 

plete system for the government of the province, at the same 
time directing the assembly to be called together on the 25th 
of January, 1638, to have his dissent announced to them.f 
In the meanwhile, the inhabitants of Kent Island, to a certain 
extent, had submitted to the government of Maryland, and 
early in 1637 ^ court v^as established there, in the name of the 
province for the trial of civil and criminal causes. In Decem- 
ber following, the better to secure its tranquillity, Captain 
George Evelin was appointed commander of the island. Many 
of the factious adherents of Claiborne still looked forward 
to a successful establishment of his pretensions, and continued 
to excite a resistance to the processes of the civil courts. This 
spirit of oppositon at length grew to such a height, that gov- 
ernor Calvert himself was compelled, in the following year, 
to make an expedition to the island at the head of a military 
force to bring it to complete subjection to his authority.* In 
the settlement at St. Marys, the plantations had already ex- 
tended to the west side of St. Georges river, and, there being 
large accessions of emigrants in this year from the mother 
country, it was found necessary to erect a new hundred, a 
division similar to our election districts. 

Early in 1638, the Assembly, directed to be convened by 
Lord Baltimore, was summoned by the governor, and met at 
the little capital of St. Marys. The constitution of these early 
legislatures was so different from those of the present day as 
to require a more particular notice. By the charter, every free 
man was entitled to share in making the laws which were to 
govern him, either in person or by his deputy. In the youth 
of the colony, when the inhabitants were still few in number, 
and could be easily assembled, the whole body of freemen 
were required to attend, and those who found it inconvenient to 
be present, were permitted to cast their votes by proxy. Thus 
in the present assembly, its secretary, Mr. Lewger, held and 
voted twelve proxies. But as in a new country, with savage 
neighbors, where a man's presence at his plantation was always 



t Bozman, Bacon. 

*Burnap's Life of Calvert — 112; Bozman, 44. 



32 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

necessary, it would be sometimes difficult to get a full assem- 
blage, the governor was invested with the power of summon- 
ing, by special writ, those whose presence he particularly 
desired. As every one, at that period, possessed the right of 
being present, this summons must have been simply obligatory 
in its nature, and intended to compel the attendance of those 
who were especially qualified to advise and assist as legislators, 
and yet were unwilling to perform the onerous duty required 
of them. To suppose the power was aristocratical, and origin- 
ally intended to secure the governor the control of the house, 
is absurd ; as no matter how many of his adherents he might 
call together, every other freeman in the colony could claim 
and take his seat in the house with equal powers and privileges. 
Subsequently, when the number of hundreds increased, two 
burgesses were elected from each ; yet, even then, any one who 
had not voted at their election might come forward and claim a 
seat in the legislature. At a still later period, this right was 
taken away by the general assembly itself, and, then, this - 
body was composed of the delegates from the several hundreds, 
the council, and those who might be summoned by special writ. 
With this strange power in his hands, a governor could at any 
moment obtain the control of a house thus constituted and 
limited, by adding to it a sufficient number of his own friends. 
At first there was but one house — the governor's council and 
the delegates sitting together — but in process of time they 
were divided into the upper and lower houses; the council 
appointed by the Lord Proprietary forming the upper, and the 
delegates of the people the lower. 

The legislature which now assembled, composed of the 
people themselves, secured some of the most important rights 
of the colonists. Upon the guarantees of their charter they 
began to lay the sure foundations of the broader liberties of 
Maryland. 

Lord Baltimore now caused the system of laws which he 
had digested, to be presented to them in place of those passer- 
by the legislature of 1635, which he had negatived because 
they were not framed by himself. But the people, fully con- 
vincd that the initiative was in them, and that the charter only 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 33 

intended to confer upon the Proprietary a veto power, vindi- 
cated their rights by immediately rejecting the whole system, 
and set about framing such bills as they thought proper for 
their situation. The controversy which arose on this point, 
was not of long duration. After having vetoed the forty-one 
bills adopted at this long session, and insisted for a time upon 
his claim, the Lord Proprietary determined to abandon it; pre- 
ferring the welfare and prosperity of the colony, which must 
suffer from want of laws during the existence of the contro- 
\iersy, to his own individual privileges, and sensible that the- 
power of negativing any bill of which he disapproved, was 
quite sufficfent to protect his rights and authority in the prov- 
ince.* 

The insurgents captured in the engagement with Lieu- 
tenant Warren by Captain Cornwallis, had not yet been tried, 
for, hitherto, there had been no competent tribunal. Now, 
however, Thomas Smith, the second in command to Warren 
in his piratical and rebellious expedition, was brought to trial 
for the murder of Williarn„^shmore, who had been killed by 
the fire of the pinnace at the opening of the skirmish.f After 
a full examination of the testimony, he was found guilty and 
sentenced to death, though it is not certain that he was exe- 
cuted. Claiborne, the leader of the rebellion, was attainted 
and his property confiscated to the use of the province. These 
proceedings were, probably, the cause of the renewed disturb- 
ances in Kent, which required the governor's presence in that 
island, as has already been related. The house adjourned from 
time to time, until his return from the expedition in the 
month of March. 

Claiborne himself was still in England, and as active in 
his hostility as ever. Secret intrigue and open violence had 
failed in the new world, and now he endeavored to reach his 
object through the known avarice and unscrupulousness of 
the royal court. It would seem that he was never brought to 
trial for his rebellion; for he boldly laid claim to the Isle of 

* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 92. 
flbid., p. 64. 



34 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Kent and its dependencies, and charged the Proprietary's offi- 
cers with having violently assailed his pinnaces and slaugh- 
tered his men. He presented a petition to the king setting 
forth his supposed grievances, and offering to pay to the 
crown the yearly rent of two hundred pounds sterling for the 
grant of the Isle of Kent, his station at the mouth of the Sus- 
quehanna, and thirty-six miles width of territory, on each side 
of that river, from the bay to the Canada lakes, which would 
have proved a very large and valuable territory. The matter 
was referred to the lords commissioners of the council for^ 
the plantations, who reported after a full investigation, that 
"the lands in question (between Claiborne and the Proprie- 
tary) belonged absolutely to Lord Baltimore, and that no tradq 
with the Indians could be carried on there without his consent, 
and that, with regard to the violences complained of, no cause 
for any relief appeared, but that both parties should be left to 
the ordinary course of justice."* Thus again baffled, Clai- 
borne returned to Virginia to carry on his old schemes of an- 
noyance ; but the legislature of that colony interfered and com- 
pelled him to desist. Then, assuming the attitude of a sup- 
plicant, he despatched an agent to Maryland praying the res- 
toration of his property which had been confiscated by the 
government. His prayer was rejected; and, despairing of 
success, he abandoned his efforts until a more favorable period 
should arrive. t During the first four years of the settlement, 
the colony was circumscribed within narrow limits, although 
the Indians in the immediate vicinity persevered in their 
friendly relations with the Vv^hites. To these natives alone, 
therefore, the labors of the two missionaries were devoted in 
part ; for their presence was also required in the settlements ; 
and the governor, doubtful of the disposition of the savages 
in the interior, had forbidden them to penetrate thither, lest, 
by their loss, the people should be deprived of the consolation 
of their services. The Indians of Patuxent received them 
most favorably, and bestowed upon them a plantation, called 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 72, etc. 
fBurnap, 115. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 35 

Mettapaunien, or " St. Mattapany," on the river Patuxent, 
where a missionary station and storehouse were at once es- 
tablished to serve as the starting point for their labors in the 
wilderness. 

It was impossible that such zeal and energy should not 
produce abundant fruits. In five years from the date of the 
settlement, they had extended themselves throughout a large 
portion of the province ; they had visited many tribes and made 
numerous converts ; they had possessed four permanent sta- 
tions, the most distant of which was one hundred and twenty 
miles from St. Marj^s, the seat of the colony — one at the set- 
tlement, one at Mattapany, one at Kent island, and one at 
Kittamaquindi, the capital of Tayac. They were the pioneers 
of the colonists ; and, thus having possession of the shores 
of the great bay, and command of its rivers, they penetrated 
from these stations, in every direction, to the tribes of the in- 
terior, preaching Christianity to the savage, and, by their 
gentle influence maintaining the peace and quiet of the settle- 
ments more firmly and securely than could have been done 
by the whole militia of the province. But of their works the 
most important in its results was the baptism of Tayac. 

The Piscataways, or Pascatoways* as they are called in 
Father White's Journal, were the most extensive and powerful 
tribe in Maryland. Their domain was bounded on one side by 
the region of the Patuxents, and on the other by the country 
of the Susquehannas, and covered a territory one hundred and 
thirty miles in extent, perhaps including the fairest and richest 
portion of Maryland. The chief of these Indians was called 
Tayac, a title of honor and station ; his name was Ciltomachen. 



* The precise situation of these people is disputed. Burnap supposes 
they were the Patapsco tribe, and that Kittamaquindi, their capital, was 
near the present site of Baltimore. B. U. Campbell, Esq., thinks, and 
with more probability, that they were the Piscataways — and that 
Kittamaquindi was situated about fifteen miles below the present city 
of Washington. See Burnap's Life of Leonard Calvert, 87-88, and- 
Campbell's Memoir on the Early Missions of Maryland, in the pro- 
ceedings of the Maryland Historical Society, 8th January, 1846. ,. 

— The Author. 



36 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

He had obtained his power in the tribe by putting his brother, 
the former chief, to death. The mode of his conversion was 
singular. The king of the Patuxcnts who had professed so 
much affection for the EngHsh, and had hstened with great 
docihty to the missionaries, suddenly changed his whole de- 
meanor, and became cold and indifferent towards them. Fear- 
ing treachery on the part of the chief. Father White, by the 
advice of the governor, withdrew from St. Mattapany and 
removed to the Piscataways, where he was received with 
great kindness. The chief soon became attached to him, and 
made him share his simple hospitality. Tayac, so he informed 
Father White, had been warned in dreams of the approach 
of missionaries, who loved him and his people, and would 
confer great blessings upon them. 

Shortly after the arrival of Father White, the Indian chief 
fell sick, and forty conjurers, or medicine men, in vain tried 
every remedy within their power, when the missionary, by per- 
mission of the sick chief himself, administered some medicine 
to him, and caused him to be bled. Tlie treatment was skil- 
ful and judicious; the invalid began to recover, and was soon 
restored to perfect health. Then he determined to be baptized 
together with his wife and daughter, and was carefully and 
diligently instructed by Father White, in order that he might 
be prepared to receive that sacrament with proper dispositions. 
He laid aside the dress of skins, which he had heretofore worn, 
assumed that of the English, and commenced to learn their 
language. He delighted in religious conversation ; and when 
the governor once dilated to him on the great advantages his 
people would derive from the trade of the settlers, he re- 
plied : — "Verily, I consider these as trifling, when compared 
with this one benefit, that, by their aid, I have arrived at the 
true knowledge of the one God, the most important of all 
knowledge." 

Being convinced himself, he sought to bring his people 
to the same faith. In an assembly of the chiefs of his empire, 
he told them, "that the superstitions, which they had formerly 
believed, ought to be abolished and Christianity adopted ; that 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 37 

there was hope only in one true God, and that stones and 
herbs, which they had heretofore worshiped, were merely the 
humblest of his works." Then, placing a stone upon his foot, 
he tossed it to a great distance, thus showing his contempt 
for that, which he had before received as a deity. The people, 
already prepared by the preaching of the missionary, loudly 
applauded the speech and action of the king; and thenceforth 
the idols began to fall into disrepute. The good dispositions 
of Tayac were strengthened by a visit which he made to St. 
Marys, in company with Father White. He was much im- 
pressed by the conduct of an Indian, who v;as executed there 
for murder. The missionaries endeavored to prepare the 
criminal to meet his fate, and Tayac himself acted as their 
interpreter. The Indian was baptized and suffered with such 
calmness and resignation that the king, moved by the spectacle, 
expressed a desire to be baptized. But, in order that the cere- 
mony might be performed with becoming preparation, it was 
deferred. 

On the fifth of July, 1640 (O. S.), in the presence of the 
governor, Leonard Calvert, the secretary, Mr. Lewger, and 
many other of the principal inhabitants of the province, Tayac, 
his queen, their little son — and many of the chief men of his 
council, had administered to them the rites of baptism. The 
king assumed the name of Charles, in honor of the English 
sovereign ; his queen that of Mary. In the afternoon, the king 
and queen were married according to Christian usage. 

Much was hoped from the conversion of Tayac, but, in 
less than a year, he died. His young daughter now became 
queen of the Piscataways, not long after was baptized at St. 
Marys, having already learned the English language. The 
example of Tayac and his family was followed by many other 
natives. The inhabitants of the town of Potopaco, now Port 
Tobacco, to the number of one hundred and thirty, together 
with their queen, were baptized — the chiefs and principal men 
of Potomac town, on the Virginia shore, and the chiefs of 
several neighboring villages were converted. While Anacos- 
ton, sachem of a tribe adjoining the Piscataways, became so 



38 HISTORY OF ^lARYLAXD. 

firmly attached to the whites, that he wished to take up his 
residence among them, as a citizen of the colony. 

Thus guarded and protected by a circle of Christian In- 
dians, bound to them by the ties of gratitude and religion, it 
is not surprising that ^Iar\iand suffered but little from the 
hostilit}' of the natives — yet even it was disturbed by a few 
troubles, which were dignified by the title of the Indian wars. 

It was natural that a feeling of jealousy should spring up 
in the breasts of the natives, as they beheld the rapid increase 
of the colonists, and the extension of their settlements, swal- 
lowing up their hunting grounds and occupying the graves 
of their forefathers. Yet no cause of offence was given them 
by the colonists, and their affection for the missionaries sup- 
pressed ever}- feeling of discontent in the minds of the Chris- 
tian Indians. The Susquehannahs were the most hostile and 
warlike of the tribes of ;Man,-land, but their countr}' lay far 
north and west of the settlements, while, between, stretched the 
land of the friendly Tayac. The Xanticokes, who also ap- 
peared inimical to the whites, inhabited the eastern shore. 
The waters of the bay ser^-ed as a barrier to their incursions, 
until the settlements spread across it, and then the colony had 
become too powerful to dread any, or all the tribes united to- 
gether. The Xanticokes were composed of several tribes, and 
called, in their own language, "Xentego," and, in the Dela- 
ware. "Unechtgo," or "Seashore Settlers," and their territory 
stretched along both sides of the Xanticoke river, in Somerset 
and Dorchester count}-. The other principal tribes on that 
shore, in common with the Xanticokes, of the Lenape, or 
Delaw-are race, w-ere the Ozinies, on the Chester river ; the 
Toghwochs, on the Sassafras ; the Atquinachunks, on the Dela- 
v\-are : the Wycomeses, and the Choptanks. On the western 
shore, after the Susquehannas, the Patuxents and the Piscata- 
w^ays were the most importanL 

These numerous tribes, united together, would have prov- 
ed very- formidable to the settlers ; yet there never was any 
combination of a serious nature attempted. The Indian wars 
of !Mar\-land ne-wr rose beyond pett\- expeditions to chastise 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 39 

some hostile tribe or to capture and punish particular individu- 
als, who liad committed aggressions upon the persons or 
property of the colonists. Only once did the savages make 
a successful inroad of any consequence, and that was against 
a missionary station which they destroyed, killing the inhabi- 
tants and carrying oft a considerable booty. But speedy retri- 
bution overtook them, for they were severely punished by the 
military force of the province. 

The dread of attack from these powerful and warlike 
savages, rendered it necessary that some general system of 
defence should be adopted. The people were obliged by law 
to keep a sufficient quantity of arms and ammunition in their 
houses so as to be ready at a moment's warning, and every 
male, capable of bearing arms, was enrolled in the militia, and 
made subject to be called out for the common defence. In 
1642, when the fear of an invasion by the Susquehannas was 
very prevalent, new precautions were adopted, no man being 
allowed to fire three shots in a quarter of an hour, except to 
give an alarm ; and every one who heard three shots within 
that space of time was directed to repeat the signal. The 
women and children were then to betake themselves for safety 
to the blockhouses, of which there was one in each hundred, 
while the men arm.ed and rallied to meet the foe. A garrison 
was placed in the fort of St. Inigoes, near the capital,* as a 
main stronghold ; and to provide for any sudden outbreak ; 
when the inhabitants left their homes for religious worship 
thev carried their arms with them.f 

In 1639 ^" expedition was sent against some Indians 
of the Eastern shore, who had given cause of offence, and 
also against the Susquehannahs, who had been molesting the 
friendly tribes of Patuxent and Piscataway. The armament 
consisted of two pinnaces and a skiff, manned with thirty 
marksmen, whose service was compulsory, and several volun- 
teers. To equip and victual this force, the governor was under 
the necessity of sending a shallop to Virginia, to procure a 

* Bozman, 212; Bacon. 
t Biirnap. 



40 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

supply of arms, ammunition and food.* At the same time, the 
militia of the province was put upon a better footing, drilled 
and exercised. In 1642, the Ozinies became hostile, and as 
they could muster sixty warriors, created considerable uneasi- 
ness in Kent Island. To prevent an outbreak a proclamation 
was issued forbidding their appearance on the island, and 
authorizing the inhabitants to put to death any who should 
disobey the prohibition. The disaffection, however, continued 
to spread among the tribes, and the Susquehannas, Wycome- 
ses and Nanticokes were, in the ensuing year, declared enemies 
of the province. It was at this period that the Susquehannas 
struck a heavy blow in the destruction of the mission station- 
to which reference has already been made — and, while they 
were ravaging the western and northern frontier, the Nanti- 
cokes, on the Eastern Shore, threatened the colonists with in- 
vasion across the bay. Governor Calvert determined to antici- 
pate their attack. Having assisted the Governor of Virginia, 
upon a similar occasion, in punishing the Indians of the east- 
ern shore for an outrage upon the settlements of that colony, 
he wrote to him, proposing to undertake a joint expedition 
with two hundred men, to be raised equally by the two prov- 
inces, to chastise the enemy. At home, he directed all the 
frontier settlers to be drawn into the forts and blockhouses, 
proclaimed martial law, and authorized the commanders to 
call out every third m.an capable of bearing arms. A procla- 
mation, similar to that for the protection of Kent Island, was 
issued, by which every Indian, under penalty of death, was 
prohibited from passing within a line drawn from the Patuxent 
to the Potomac. The promptness of his measures produced 
the desired effect ; for, though the colony suffered occasionally 
from a hostile inroad, nothing of importance occurred, and 
in a short time a truce was concluded with the Nanticokes. 

While occupied with these Indian affairs, new troubles 
sprung up in a different quarter. The limits of the charter 
extended to the north beyond the Schuylkill, and, as that re- 
gion presented many advantages, a party of Maryland colonists 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 162. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 41 

settled there, and began to reclaim and reciiltivate the wilder- 
ness.* Lower down, in the Delaware Bay, the Swedes hadr^ 
already built a fort. The Dutch of New York laid claim to 
the whole territory, and fitted out an expedition of two armed 
sloops to take possession of it, and to drive away its occupants. 
The province was too much engaged with more pressing, 
affairs at home to afford assistance to the settlers on the 
Schuylkill. These probably abandoned that region, for which 
the restless New Englanders now also contended, as included 
in their grants. 

In the meanwhile, the colonists, in spite of external ene- 
mies and internal malcontents, had gone on improving and 
strengthening their settlements, and extending their legislation. 
Lord Baltimore, having in August, 1638, granted to the people 
the right of originating laws, authorized his brother, in his 
name, to agree to such bills as seemed proper and necessary, 
until he himself should express his disapproval under his seal. 
A new Assembly was therefore summoned. This body met at 
St. Marys, on the 25th of February, 1639, O. S., and adopted 
many useful measures. The most important was an act es- 
tablishing general laws for the government of the province. 
By it were secured the rights and franchises of the church, 
the prerogatives of the lord Proprietary, and the liberties of 
the people, according to the magna charta. Its subsequent 
sections provided for the administration of justice, the main- 
tenance of civil rights, and the punishment of criminal of- 
fences. A county court was established at St. Marys, which 
was still the only county of the province, although there were 
many subdivisions of hundreds, besides the several settlements 
upon Kent Island, now incorporated into a separate hundred. 
A court of chancery was erected, the jurisdiction of justices 
of the peace extended and defined, the duties of the present 
orphans' court vested in the secretary, a short insolvent system, 
framed, and oaths of office prescribed. In addition to these, 
the planting of Indian corn and tobacco was regulated, weights 
and measures ascertained, the custom or duty on the exporta- 



*Bozman, vol. 2, 205; McMahon, 23. 



42 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tion of tobacco fixed, and military discipline provided for.* 

Heretofore, ever}- free man who had not voted at the 
election for burgesses, was entitled to take his seat in the 
house ; it was now enacted, that only the lieutenant governor, 
his secretary, such gentlemen as he specially summoned, and 
the elected representatives of the different hundreds, should 
henceforth constitute the General Assembly. The privileges, 
thus given to the governor, might have been of dangerous 
consequence — but Leonard Calvert's long and virtuous admin- 
istration fully justified the confidence which the people then 
placed in his honor and integrity. A bill, passed at this ses- 
sion, displays forcibly the condition of the infant province. 
A water mill, for the use of the people, was of the utmost im- 
portance, and the governor and council were authorized to 
contract for its erection provided the cost should not exceed 
twenty thousand pounds of tobacco, the early currency o£ 
Maryland, equal, according to the rates of a later period, to 
the sum of three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty- 
three and one-third cents, which was to be raised by general 
taxation in two years.f A similar provision was made for 



* Bacon. 

t Bozman, vol. 2, p. 156. The author of " A Relation of Maryland " 

says, " They have also set up a water mill for the grinding of 

corne adjoining to the towne. — 1635." Unless this attempt failed, 

wherefore the necessity of setting up one by taxation? 

This author gives the names of some of " the gentlemen adventurers " 

who accompanied the first colony : 

Leonard Calvert, the governor, ) 

George Calvert, j ^'^ lordship s brothers. 

Thomas Cornwallis, Esq., ) 

Jerome Hawley. Esq., | commissioners. 

Richard Gerard, son of Sir Thomas Gerard, K. B. 

Edward Wintour, ] 

Frederick Wintour, J ^°"^ °^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^""^ W.ntour. 

Henry Wiseman, son of Sir Thomas Wiseman, Bart. 

John Saunders, Thomas Dorrel, 

Edward Cranfield, Captain John Hill, 

Henry Green, John Medcalf, 

Nicholas Fairfax, William Saire. 

John Baxter, See also Bozman, vol. 2. p. 26N. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 43 

building a "towne house.'' Both these laws, while they display 
the past weakness of the colony, also prove its growing extent 
and population, which rendered such improvements necessary. 
Heretofore, hand mills had sufficed to grind the Indian corn 
in sufficient quantities for the sparse settlements — and the 
house of the governor had been large enough to accommodate 
their delegates. With the necessity came the improvement; 
and the erection of the first water mill and the first Statehouse, 
mav be considered an epoch in the history of Maryland. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE PURITANS IN THE PROVINCE. 

While the little colony was thus steadily progressing, 
in spite of the difficulties which surrounded it, the horizon, 
in the far east, began to darken. The contest between the king 
and the parliament had broken out in England, and it seemed 
that the latter was about to become victorious. The govern- 
ment of Maryland had sprung from a royal grant, its Propri- 
etary was an adherent of the king, and the storm, which was 
hurling the king from his throne, could scarcely pass by, leav- 
ing the Proprietary and his province unscathed. The spirit 
of disaffection already began to appear in the settlements ; 
brought there by a colony of Puritans, who had been driven 
out of Virginia, which tolerated neither Catholic nor Dissenter, 
and received with open arms in Maryland, to repay liberality 
with dissension and kindness with civil war. As the suc- 
cess of parliament increased, their party grew in strength, 
(jrovernor Calvert, uncertain what course to pursue, and anxious 
to view, in person, the tendency of affairs in the mother 
country, determined to return to England to consult with, 
his brother. Lord Baltimore. To provide for the government 
of the province, he appointed Mr. Giles Brent " lieutenant 
general, admiral, chief captain, magistrate, and commander," 
and set sail for England in the early part of the year 1643. 
During his absence, the spirit of disafifection increased and at 
length broke out in Claiborne's and Ingle's rebellion. 

The Indians, either urged on by their malcontents, or per- 
ceiving the internal dissensions of the settlers, were again in 
motion. Even prior to the departure of Leonard Calvert, the 

44 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 45 

Susquehannahs assumed a threatening attitude, and the gov- 
ernor appointed Captain Cornwallis, a man of great skill and 
courage, exceedingly popular, and possessing the full confi- 
dence of the militia, to take command of an expedition to be 
raised by draft. But as that experienced officer preferred willing 
services to the compulsory aid of pressed men, the design was 
changed, and he was authorized to assemble and organize a 
body of volunteers. The Susquehannahs had now become 
more formidable, having been furnished with fire arms and 
instructed in their use by the Swedes and Dutch of New York 
and the Delaware, who carried on a wholesale traffic in arms 
and ammunition with the Indians bordering on the English 
and French colonies, to the manifest danger of their settle- 
ments and contrary to the law of nations.* While these war- 
like Indians were threatening the colony on the north. Captain 
Richard Ingle, an associate of Claiborne, and a pirate and a 
rebel, was discovered hovering about the settlement with an 
armed ship, holding communications with, and endeavoring 
to strengthen the numbers of, the disaffected. Governor Brent 
immediately issued a proclamation, ordering his arrest and 
the seizure of his ship. Ingle was taken, but soon succeeded 
in making his escape, and joined Claiborne to concoct fresh 
designs against the peace of the province. 

At length, in 1644, Leonard Calvert returned to Mary- 
land, bearing new commissions from his brother. Lord Balti- 
more, for the more firm establishment of the government. 
He found the province in great disorder, the public officers at 
variance with one another, the encroachments of the Indians 
continuing, the pirate Ingle at large, his untiring enemy, Clai- 
borne, up in arms and once more in possession of Kent Island. 
A reconnoitering party of eight men, under Mark Pheypo and 
John Genalles, was immediately despatched across the bay, 
in a light shallop, to watch the movements of the insurgents ; 
and preparations were made to dislodge them. They were 
proclaimed public enemies. f But the efforts of Governor Cal- 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 273. 
t January, 1645, O. S. 



46 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

vert to obtain possession of Kent Island failed ; and the two 
rebels, emboldened by their success and certain of assistance 
from their friends, invaded the western shore, and, after a 
short struggle, obtained complete possession of the province. 
Governor Calvert was compelled to fly to Virginia, and the 
conquerors immediately commenced a system of outrage and" 
oppression upon those who had adhered to his fortunes and 
supported the laws of the colony. Many were robbed of all 
their possessions, and banished from the province, and those 
who were permitted to remain, were so despoiled as almost to 
become destitute of the means of subsistence.f Even the 
missionaries were seized, their stations plundered and broken 
up, and they themselves, with the venerable Father White, 
the apostle of Maryland, among the number, sent in chains 
to England, where long imprisonment awaited them.$ They 
took possession of the provincial records, which they so mu- 
tilated and destroyed, that it is almost impossible to obtain 
an accurate account of their proceedings, or of the struggle 
which preceded their success.* 

In England, the parliament had at length utterly over- 
thrown the power of the king, who was now a captive in their 
hands; and the last stronghold of his partizans had been 
surrendered to the arms of their successful generals. Clai- 
borne and Ingle acted in the name of the parliament, and their 
success, in these circumstances, seemed a death blow to the 
supremacy of Lord Baltimore, in the province. He felt this, 
and accordingly, in 1646, directed his brother, the late gov- 
ernor, and Mr. Lewger, the secretary, to collect and take charge 
of such of his private property as might be saved from the 
wreck of his fortunes, apparently abandoning foirever the 
hope of recovering his Proprietary rights. But Leonard Cal- 
vert would not so easily submit to the overthrow of his just 
authority, and the destruction of their common prospects. 
The inhabitants of Virginia had remained loyal to the crown. 



* Bozman, 290 ; Burnap, 218. 
t Bozman ; Burnap. 
t Campbell. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 47 

and, perhaps, the majority of the people of Maryland were at 
least firmly attached to the mild and parental government of 
the Calverts. In Virginia, therefore, Governor Calvert found 
a safe refuge, and soon began to collect the means for a final 
effort to subdue the rebels ; in Maryland, the systematic out- 
rages, the oppression, and the misrule of the usurpers, before 
long prepared the people to sustain him in his attempt. At 
length, having completed his preparations, and believing the 
time propitious for his undertaking, about the close of the 
year 1646, at the head of the military force which he had 
levied, he crossed the Potomac, surprised the enemy, and, hav- 
ing gained an almost bloodless victory, re-entered St. Marys 
in triumph, and once more took possession of the government. 

Captain Hill, who had acted as governor under a com- 
mission from the council, submitted and retired to Virginia, 
without attempting to maintain his power ; and in a short time 
the whole western shore, after having been under the dominion 
of the rebels for nearly two years, joyfully renewed its allegi- 
ance to Lord Baltimore. Banished from England, Father 
White again ventured back into the kingdom, in defiance of 
.the laws, to pursue his duties as a priest, and was again im- 
prisoned. He died in London, on the 27th of December, 1656, 
in the seventy-eighth year of his age, 

Kent Island, however, the stronghold of the malcontents, 
did not submit so easily as the rest of the province; and it 
was found necessary to declare martial law, to cut off all com- 
munication from without, and to send an expedition, under 
the governor himself, into the island, before the rebels could 
be reduced once more under the authority of the Lord Pro- 
prietary. Proper measures were immediately adopted to se- 
cure the tranquillity of the island, or county as it was now 
called. Desirous of healing old differences and of subduing the 
hostility of the disaffected by kindness and generosity, the 
governor granted an amnesty to most of the offenders, and 
returned to St. Marys.* 



* Bozman. 



48 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Order was restored once more to the colony ; renewed 
prosperity, the necessary result of its internal resources and 
its re-established tranquillity, already commenced to dawn upon 
the inhabitants, when a fresh, and almost irreparable, mis- 
fortune befell them, in the death of their amiable yet enterpriz- 
ing governor. At St. Marys, surrounded by his family and 
friends, on the 9th of June, 1647, Leonard Calvert breathed 
his last, having, in virtue of the power vested in him by his 
brother, named Thomas Greene his successor as governor 
of Maryland.! During the space of fourteen years, he had 
guided the colony through the storms which darkened around 
its infancy — he had devoted his whole life and energies to 
its permanent establishment — with a disinterested self-devo- 
tion, he had striven, in the wilderness, for its glory and its 
prosperity ; and it seemed as if, through a special providence 
of heaven, to reward his labors, a beam of sunshine and tran- 
quillity had broken over the province as he was about to die, 
at peace with all, triumphant over the enemies of Maryland, 
full of honor, and enriched with the blessings of a rescued 
people. His character, public and private, was without stain, 
his abilities were unquestioned, his government kind and par- 
ental, and his memory was long cherished by the colonists 
with grateful recollection. He was, indeed, a great and good 
man. 

Governor Greene immediately entered upon the duties 
of his office, and his first effort was to prevent any attempt 
to disturb the peace of the colony, on the part of Captain Hill 
or his adherents, who had taken refuge across the Potomac, 
As the session of the provincial court was approaching, he 
issued a proclamation, prohibiting any of the refugees from 
claiming the assistance or judgment of the court, in any case, 
in their favor, until they had taken the oath of fealty, therein 
prescribed, to the government. But a difficulty now sprung 
up from another source. During the past commotions, the 
colonists had neglected, or been unable, to plant a sufficient 
quantity of corn ; and a scarcity of food began to be apparent. 

t Burnap. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 49 

The troops which Governor Calvert had enHsted in Virginia, 
were not yet paid or discharged, and it was found difficult 
to furnish them with subsistence. They had been denied the 
privilege of plundering the rebels, and the poverty of the 
province rendered it very difficult, after the late disorder, 
to raise their arrears of pay. To satisfy their present de- 
mands, Governor Greene issued a proclamation, directing a 
seizure of all the corn which the people might have, over and 
above a sufficiency for their own use, to be paid for out of 
his lordship's estate at the rate of one hundred and twenty 
pounds of tobacco per barrel, or to be replaced, provided 
enough should be imported into the colony.* 'Mrs. Marga- 
ret Brent, a relative and the administratrix of the deceased ^ 
governor, a woman of great spirit and energy, had already 
exhausted all the resources of his estate to meet the crisis ; 
and the legislature, which met shortly after, confirmed the 
measures of the governor, allowing each family to retain two 
barrels of corn per head, excepting infants, and fixing the rate 
of compensation for the quantity pressed for the public ser- 
vice, at one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco per barrel. 
The governor had considered it prudent, in the deranged 
state of afifairs, to prohibit the exportation of corn or horses 
from the province until the scarcity should be remedied ; this 
measure was also approved of, and continued. At the close 
of the session, to heal up all existing differences, a general 
pardon was proclaimed for those rebels who might embrace 
its terms, except Captain Richard Ingle. T'hus ended the 
rebellion, which had been boldly conceived, and energetically 
executed ; which was successful for a time, but was over- 
thrown through the excesses of its leaders and the loyalty of 
the people to the Calverts. Its lingering consequence was 
longest felt in the threatening attitude of the Indians, who 
still continued so hostile, that the governor found it necessary 
to adjourn the county court, lest the absence of jurymen, 
parties, and witnesses from the frontier districts in attendance 



* Bozman, 309, 313, 315. 



50 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

upon it should weaken those exposed portions of the settle- 
ments and subject them to outrage. 

Mingling in the political causes which brought on this 
rebellion, was a feeling of religious intolerance in the Puritan 
faction, which wreaked itself upon the offending missionaries 
and first infringed on the rights of liberty of conscience in 
Maryland. 

Lord Baltimore now perceived that, while concessions 
to the Puritans might be necessary to maintain his province, 
new safeguards were required to prevent the growing feeling 
of bigotry from destroying the sanctuary which he had erected 
at the cost of so much care and treasure. Therefore, in 1648, he 
appointed William Stone governor of the province, and pre- 
scribed that famous oath of office which secured the continu- 
ance of liberty of conscience and full toleration to all persons 
who professed to believe in Jesus Christ.* Governor Stone 
had undertaken to transport into the province five hundred 
settlers, who were probably Protestants like himself, the 
new secretary and the greater portion of the council. Here- 
tofore, the most of those appointed to office by the lord Pro- 
prietary had been Catholics ; but now, the Puritans being 
triumphant at home, he hoped by this measure to propitiate 
them, at the same time that, by an oath of office, he secured 
to all Christians the full toleration which had hitherto most 
scrupulously been observed. Governor Stone entered upon 
his duties towards the close of the year 1648, or the opening 
of the ensuing year. On April 2, 1649, the General As- 
sembly was convened at St. Mary's, and, to give additional 
security to the safeguards which Lord Baltimore had already 
provided, passed an act that must forever render memorable 
the founders and people of Maryland. After enacting severe 
punishments for the crime of blasphemy, and declaring that 
certain penalties should be inflicted upon any one who should 
call another a sectarian name of reproach, it proceeds with 
the sublime declaration : "and whereas the enforcing of con- 
science, in matters of religion, hath frequently fallen out to 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 335 ; McMahon, 226. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 51 

be of dangerous consequence, in those commonwealths where 
it has been practised, and for the more quiet and peaceable 
government of this province, and the better to preserve mutual 
love and unity amongst the inhabitants, &c., no person or 
persons whatsoever, within this province or the islands, ports, 
harbors, creeks or havens thereunto belonging, professing to 
believe in Jesus Christ, shall from henceforth be any ways 
troubled, or molested, or discountenanced for or in respect 
of his or her religion, nor in the free exercise thereof, within 
this province or the islands thereunto belonging, nor any way 
compelled to the belief or exercise of any other religion, 
against his or her consent.* 

The passage of this act is one of the proud boasts of Mary- 
land, and its exact execution until the government was over- 
thrown by the Puritans, and, from its restoration, until the 
Protestant revolution, forms one of her greatest glories. In 
the north, the Puritans drove the Episcopalian from their 
borders and bound the peaceful Friend to the whipping-post, 
bored his tongue, slit his ears, or condemned him to die upon 
the gallows. In Virginia, the Catholic and the Puritan were 
alike disfranchised and banished, by the Episcopalians ; and 
even Rhode Island, founded by the mild and gentle Roger 
Williams, denied to Catholics a participation in the political 
rights that were enjoyed in that community by all others.f 
Only in Maryland, was there true toleration and liberty of con- 
science. The Catholic and the Protestant, the Puritan, the 
Episcopalian, the Presbyterian and the Friend, there joined 
hands in peace and fellowship, worshiping God according to 
the dictates of their conscience — for there was none to " mo- 
lest or discountenance them. Whoever dared to stigmatize 
his fellow man as " heretic, schismatic, idolater, Puritan, In- 
dependent, Presbyterian, Popish Priest, Jesuit, Jesuited Pap- 
ist, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anabaptist, Brownist, Antinomian, 
Barrowist, Roundhead, Separatists, or any other name or term. 



* Bacon's Laws. 

t Grahame, vol. 2, p. 23, note. -^ 



52 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

in a reproachful manner, relating to matter of religion,"* was 
subject to a fine of ten shillings sterling, one half to be paid 
to the party insulted, and in default thereof, to be publicly 
whipped and imprisoned until he should make ample satisfac- 
tion to the party offended, by asking and receiving his for- 
giveness, publicly, and in the presence of the chief officer of 
the place where the offence had been committed. 

That the Catholics were still in the majority is evident; 
it was their only refuge from persecution, and hither, there- 
fore, every emigrant turned his steps. Germans, French and 
Italians sought a home within the borders of Maryland. With 
the tide of emigration thus in their favor, with the large body 
of Catholic settlers who had come over in the first five or ten 
years, to increase the numbers of the early pilgrims, it is not 
probable that they should have been already outnumbered by 
the refugees, who, driven from other colonies, sought asylum 
in Maryland. f Indeed, Gov. Sharp says, in 1758, writing 
to Lord Baltimore, that up to the date of the Protestant 
revolution in 1689, the Catholics were the majority of the 
people^ The law, as is evident from the second section, was 
framed by a Catholic assembly, while it was assented to by 
a Protestant governor and council ; so that a portion of the 
honor is due to both. All the people of Maryland may claim 
this glory of their forefathers, as their equal and common 
heritage, while all must equally regret the penalties, which 
its first section announces, but which do not appear to have 
ever been enforced. But this act, in its best provisions, was 



* See Bacon's Laws for the act. 

fBurnaby, an English Episcopal clergyman, who visited Maryland in 
1760, 114 years after this time, when this toleration had been de- 
stroyed, and the number of Catholics decreased by oppressive and 
restraining laws, says, that there were still " as many Catholics as 
Protestants;" alluding to the Established Church, and meaning 
"Episcopalians" — who were probably more numerous than any 
other Protestant denomination. It is not credible, therefore, that 
they were in the minority in 1649, or even long after. 

— The Author. 

t See his letter in Annals of Annapolis. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. - 53 

only the solemn recording of that principle, which had here- 
tofore governed the province and which had been laid down 
by its Catholic founders, and proclaimed from its first settle- 
ment. And yet the greatest misfortunes of the province 
sprang out of the most important exercise of this liberality. 

The Puritans had established a conventicle in Virginia, 
and three ministers were sent from Boston to convert the 
"ungodly Virginians," but as their numbers began to increase, 
the government determined to break it up ,and, in 1642, the 
members were dispersed and driven from the province.* Many 
of them, with Richard Bennett at their head, sought refuge 
in Maryland, were kindly received, and settled at a place they 
called Providence, near the present city of Annapolis, in Anne 
Arundel. They were no sooner seated in their new habitation 
than they refused to take the oath of fealty to the province, 
which the law required from all emigrants upon obtaining 
patents for their lands. They declined this oath, "because 
it was an oath," says one of their defenders, "to support a 
government which upheld antichrist," that is, secured free- 
dom of conscience to Catholics and Episcopalians, as well 
as to themselves. They formed themselves into a community, 
governed by their own congregational church system, occupied 
the lands without any formal grants, and had no recognised 
connection with the colony, until in July, 1650, when their 
settlement was erected into a county, and a commander and 
justices of the peace appointed, as in Kent and St. Marys. 

Events in England had now taken such a course as to 
affect materially the condition of Maryland. The king, who 
had been seized by the republicans, was brought to trial before 
a tribunal, sentenced to death, and publicly executed on the 
30th of January, 1650. The parliament, to forever destroy 
royalty in England, issued a decree declaring it treason for 
any one to acknowledge his son Charles as king. In spite of 
this prohibition, he was immediately and formally proclaimed 
by the authorities of Maryland and, to commemorate his acces- 
sion, a general pardon for all offences was published by the 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 370. 



54 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

governor. This daring act of loyalty aroused the adherents 
of the parliament and led to the reduction of Maryland. 

The Puritans had gradually grown in strength, since 
their first admission into Maryland. Besides the colony 
brought over by Governor Stone, another had lately arrived 
from England, under Richard Brooke, and settled in the 
county of Charles, which was erected for them, and of which 
their leader was made commander. When the assembly 
was called, consisting of fourteen delegates, it was found 
that the partisans of the commonwealth were in the majority. 

At first, however, the Puritans of Providence had refused 
to send representatives and it was not until the governor 
visited them in person to persuade them to do so that they 
consented. At the same time, they began to give currency 
to a report, doubtless derived from their friends in England, 
that Lord Baltimore's government was about to be over- 
thrown, and the province "reduced" under the control of the 
commissioners of parliament. The authorities made an effort 
to put a stop to these rumors, but it was soon discovered 
that they were not without foundation. Parliament had passed 
an ordinance for the reduction of the Barbadoes and Virginia, 
which, however, was not put in execution until the year fol- 
lowing, when a commission was issued to sundry persons, 
among whom were William Claiborne, whose intriguing ap- 
pears throughout the whole transaction, and Richard Bennett, 
heretofore so hospitably received into the province when exiled 
from Virginia. The appointment of these two men boded ill 
for Maryland. With a fleet of several armed vessels, and a 
force of seven hundred men, the commissioners, who were 
in England, set sail for the colonies. After a short struggle 
they obtained possession of the Barbadoes, and proceeded to 
Virginia, where they were joined by Bennett and Claiborne. 
The governor of Virginia made his submission and received 
favorable terms. Although the duties of the commissioners 
had now been performed, the opportunity of revenging fan- 
cied wrongs, and gratifying ancient hostility was too favor- 
able for Claiborne to permit it to pass unimproved. Bennett 
joined eagerly in the scheme, and, although the province of 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 55 

Maryland, after having been included in the commission, was 
exempted from it, under color of some general terms, they 
resolved to extend their authority over it. Towards the close 
of March, 1652, they arived at St. Marys, and required that 
the colony should conform to the laws and submit to the 
authority of the commonwealth, saving Lord Baltimore's rights. 
To this Governor Stone consented. But when they insisted 
that the name of the Proprietary should be erased from all 
writs and processes, and that of the commonwealth used in 
its stead he felt himself compelled to resist. They then de- 
manded an inspection of his commission, and when he pro- 
duced it, violently seized upon it and remioved him and his 
subordinates from office. They next appointed a council, of 
which Robert Brooke was made president and acting governor, 
took possession of the records and entirely abolished the au- 
thority of the Proprietary in the province. The commissioners 
then departed to Virginia, and declared Richard Bennett gov- 
ernor, and Claiborne secretary of that province ; and having 
made some further regulations for its government, revisited 
St. Marys to arrange that of Maryland on a similar basis. 
They reinstated Governor Stone in his office, upon somewhat 
modified conditions, delivered over to Claiborne Kent 'island 
and Palmer's island at the mouth of the Susquehanna, and 
returned again to Virginia. Thus, Claiborne was once more 
successful, and the power of Lord Baltimore overthrown.* 

A treaty was now entered into with the Susquehannahs, 
by which they ceded to the colony all their territory from 
Palmer's island to the Patuxent, and a large tract on the 
eastern shore. No sooner had this powerful tribe thus buried 
the hatchet, than the Nanticokes broke in upon the eastern 
shore settlers, burning, killing and ravaging. Terror pre- 
vailed among the inhabitants and an earnest effort was made 
by the governor to raise a force and protect the frontiers. 
Every seventh man capable of bearing arms was ordered 
to muster into service, to be fitted out at the expense of the 
remaining six. Boats were pressed into service and the whole 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 448. -^ 



56 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

expedition ordered to rendezvous at St. Mattapany, under 
the command of Captain Fuller. The Puritans of Anne Arun- 
del, however, refused to make their levies, offering as their 
excuse, the hardship of the season, December and January. 
Delays thus arose, and, perhaps the note of preparation caus- 
ing a cessation of outrage, the soldiers already levied were 
discharged to their homes and the expedition abandoned.f 

For several years, the inhabitants had devoted them- 
selves very extensively to the culture of tobacco, somewhat to 
the neglect of corn, which, during the late commotions, had 
been still less attended to ; a second season of scarcity was 
the consequence. Tobacco and corn were from the earliest 
period the staples of Maryland commerce. The first crop of 
Indian corn gathered by the pilgrims at St. Marys afforded 
them a surplus with which as we have seen they opened a 
coasting trade with New England, and also later, with New 
Amsterdam. Subsequently, when the culture of tobacco and 
corn grew extensive, this trade increased. Indeed, the greater 
portion of their tobacco passed through the hands of the 
Dutch, who were then monopolizing the carrying trade of the 
world. In 1640 all commerce with foreign countries was 
prohibited to the colonies by the British parliament. By the 
famous navigation act, the carrying trade, which the Dutch 
still enjoyed between England and the colonies was entirely 
cut off. Thus the colony was deprived of the privilege of 
free trade, and suffered greatly from the consequent diminu- 
tion of its commerce in tobacco, which increased the distress 
due to the scarcity of corn. 

The Lord Proprietary, thus dispossessed of his province, 
did not rest quietly under the manifest wrong and injustice 
done him. He immediately took steps to call the commis- 
sioners to account for their illegal proceedings in Maryland, 
while their agents presented a petition, in their behalf to the 
parliament. This was dismissed. Cromwell having in the 
meantime seized the reins of government and the Dutch war 
being then at its height, no further notice was taken of the 

t Bozman. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 57 

matter. Lord Baltimore, perhaps relying upon the growing 
tendency of Cromwell to monarchical power, determined to 
right himself in spite of the republicans, and directed Gov- 
ernor Stone to require all persons to take the oath of fidelity, 
and to re-establish the proprietary government, which was 
acordingly done in 1654. 

No sooner had Claiborne and Bennett, in Virginia, 
heard of these proceedings, than they hastened to Providence 
to restore the old order of things. Both parties began to 
arm ; but the commissioners, having gathered the Puritans in 
strength on the northern boundaries of the loyal districts, 
threatened them on the south with an invasion by a strong 
force from Virginia, and Governor Stone, timid or disaf- 
fected, again submitted. They took possession of the province, 
and issued a commission for its government in the name of 
Cromwell, whom Stone had already proclaimed. At its head 
they placed Captain William Fuller. Their next step was 
to disfranchise the Catholics. An Assembly was called, and 
it was especially prohibited for any Catholic or royalist to \-ote 
for or to sit therein as a delegate.* As soon as this body, thus 
constituted, and representing but a minority of the people, 
assembled, it proceeded to pass a law enacting that no persons 
professing the faith of the Catholic church "would be pro- 
tected in the province, but that they ought be restrained from 
the exercise thereof." At the same time they denounced "pre- 
lacy," as they denominated the church of England. Thus 
was placed the first stain upon the fair name of Maryland, by 
the act of ungrateful refugees from the north. By the same 
Assembly an act was passed to prevent the taking of the oath 
of fidelity to the Lord Proprietary.- 

When Lord Baltimore was apprized of these proceedings, 
he despatched a special messenger, William Eltonhead, to the 
colony, with a severe rebuke to Governor Stone for thus yield- 
ing his authority without a blow and instructions to resume 
it immediately. Accordingly, in the opening of the year 1655, 
Stone issued commissions to his friends and began to make 



58 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

levies among the people of St. Marys, who had remnined faith- 
ful to the Proprietary. In a short time he found himself at 
the head of two hundred men. Believing himself strong 
enough to strike, he despatched a party of twenty men under 
William Eltonhead and Josias Fendall, to recover the records 
of the province, which the commissioners had seized and re- 
moved to the house of Richard Preston on the Patuxent, and 
to capture a magazine of arms and ammunition gathered there 
by the Puritans. The party was completely successful, and 
the records, together with the magazines, were once more 
restored to St. Marys. Then, having pressed into his service 
ten or twelve vessels, lying in the harbor, Governor Stone 
embarked part of his force and set out against the people of 
Providence. On his way he was met by messengers from 
Captain Fuller and his council, remonstrating against his pro- 
ceedings, desiring to know by what authority he acted, and 
protesting, "that by the help of God, they were resolved to 
commit themselves into the hands of God, and rather die like 
men, than live like slaves." Governor Stone returned no an- 
swer to the message and detained the messengers in the hope 
of taking his enemies by surprise. Three of them, however, 
made their escape to Providence, and the Puritans put upon 
their guard, began preparations for defence. 

There was an armed merchantman, the "Golden Lyon," 
commanded by Captain Heamans, at anchor in the harbor. 
This vessel with its crew, they succeeded in winning to their 
cause. With this aid, and their own people collected and 
armed, and with the certainty of reinforcements from Clai- 
borne's men upon the Isle of Kent, which lay plainly in sight 
across the noble expanse of water, they felt themselves strong 
enough to bid defiance to their opponents. In the meanwhile, 
Governor Stone despatched enveys to the Puritans to demand 
an unconditional submission. As this had no effect, he im- 
mediately entered the mouth of the harbor with his twelve 
transports. As he was about to effect a landing, the Golden 
Lyon fired a gun at his little fleet, and sent a second shot close 
to the boats. He demanded the reason for this conduct, but 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 59 

the merchantman persisted in taking sides with the Puritans, 
and, his own small craft having no gun to oppose her, he 
assumed during the night a position higher up the creek. 
Early next morning, the Golden Lyon and some other vessels, 
with two pieces of cannon, were moored across the mouth of 
the creek so as to blockade the fleet. As soon as the governor 
drew out his little force in line upon the shore, they opened 
their batteries upon them, killing one of his men and compell- 
ing him to withdraw. While affairs were thus progressing, 
Captain Fuller, at the head of one hundred and twenty men, 
embarked in boats from Providence, and, having gone some 
distance up the river, landed, and made a circuit round the 
creek to the place where lay the forces of Governor Stone, 
As soon as their approach was discovered, the two parties, 
shouting their respective battle cries " In the name of God 
fall on — God is our strength!" and, "Hey for St. Marys!" 
rushed to the conflict. For a time the fight was well sus- 
tained ; but at length the undisciplined levies of the yeomen of 
St. Marys, began to yield before the charge of the Puritans, 
whose captain, with many of his men, had been inured to 
battle in the wars of England under the victorious banner of 
Cromwell. Defended by a fallen tree, a portion of the Mary- 
landers continued to maintain the action long after the main 
body had been defeated. Of the whole force only four or 
five escaped. Fifty killed or wounded attested the obstinacy 
of the conflict. The rest were taken prisoners. Among the 
slain was Thomas Hatton, secretary of the province; while 
Governor Stone, Col. Price, Major Chandler, and Captains 
Gerard, Lewis, Fendall and Guither (the governor and sev- 
eral others being also wounded) were among the prisoners. 
The vessel, arms and ammunition fell into the hands of 
the conquerors. The Puritans were completely victorious; 
their loss was only two .killed and several wounded (two of 
whom died soon after the conflict. This battle so disastrous 
to the fortunes of Lord Baltimore was fough<- on the 25th of 
March, 1655. 



6o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

The Puritans immediately stained their victory by an act 
as cruel and bloody as it was unnecessary. The governor and 
several of his council and others to the number of ten were 
condemned to death, although they had surrendered themselves 
upon the pledge of quarter, and four of them, William Elton- 
head, Lord Baltimore's special messenger ; his servant. Lieu- 
tenant Lewis, and Mr. Leggatt, were actually shot in cold 
blood. The rest only escaped at the stern intercession of the 
victorious soldiery themselves, and in response to the prayers 
of the ladies of the settlement. Nothing in the history of the 
colony can compare with this cold blooded and nefarious out- 
rage. The governor and his council were detained prisoners 
for some time, and were prohibited from communicating with 
their friends. Governor Stone was not allowed even to write 
to his wnfe at St. Marys, without first submitting his letters 
to the inspection of his keepers. The lady was at length per- 
mitted to visit her husband, and to nurse him. Before leaving 
St. Marys for this purpose, she wrote a detailed account of 
these unfortunate occurrences to Lord Baltim'^re. Being thus 
undisputed masters of the colony the Puritans proceeded to 
confiscate the property of all who had taken up arms to resist 
their encroachments.-*' 

Both parties now appealed to Cromwell ; Bennett, who 
had hastened to England, on the part of the Puritans, and 
Lord Baltimore in his own behalf. After various proceed- 
ings, the protector referred the matter to the lords commis- 
sioners, Whitelock and Widrington, who, it appears, reported 
in favor of the Proprietary's right to the government, but 
owing to the pre-occupation of the protector and his council 
with more pressing matters the report remained unconfirmed. 
Claiborne and Bennett renewed their petitions and representa- 
tions, while Lord Baltimore without waiting ^or further ap- 
proval, determined to make another effort to restore his au- 
thority. On the loth of July, 1656, he appointed Capt. Josias 
Fendall, governor of the province ; but, before he could take 
any effective steps, the new governor was arrested by the 



* Bozman, vol. 2, pp. 501-520; McMahon, 207. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 6i 

Puritans " upon suspicion," and brought before the provincial 
court to answer the charge " of dangerousness to the public 
peace." He denied the power of the court to try him and 
was ordered to be imprisoned until Cromwell should settle the 
disputed affairs of the colony. A month later, having grown 
weary of confinement, he made his submission, took an oath 
not to disturb the peace of the commonwealth, and obtained 
his release. 

In the meantime, the controversy had been referred to 
the " commissioners of trade," in England. That body re- 
ported in favor of the Lord Proprietary, who therefore re- 
newed his instructions to Governor Fendall, directing that the 
act for freedom of conscience should be duly observed in 
Maryland, commanding him to reward with grants of lands 
those who had been active in his behalf and to take especial 
care of the widows of those, who had been killed in his 
service, — particularly Mrs. Hatton, Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. 
Eltonhead — and tendering them the assurance that his lord- 
ship would endeavor to obtain justice upon their husbands' 
murderers.* He appointed his brother, Philip Calvert, sec- 
retary of the province, and sent him thither early in the spring 
of 1657. The new governor and secretary obtained posses- 
sion of the capital without difficulty, and soon succeeded in 
extending their authority over St. Marys county. Their suc- 
cess did not immediately extend beyond this. Maryland was 
now under a divided rule. The Puritans — Captain Fuller 
and his council — governed in the north, at Providence, des- 
tined hereafter under the name of Annapolis to become the 
capital of the colony and the state ; while Governor Barber 
(whom Fendall, being compelled to visit England on the af- 
fairs of the province, had appointed by virtue of his commis- 
sion to act in his absence), and the friends of the Lord Pro- 
prietary, held possession of the ancient city of St. Marys. 
The Puritans, determined to consider their authority as still 
undisputed and probably having possession of the records 
and public seals, summoned an Assembly, which convened 



* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 



62 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

at Patuxent on the 24th of September, 1657, and proceeded 
to confirm the authority of the party. They also levied a poll 
tax to pay the public expenses and appointed commissioners 
to collect the fines imposed upon the adherents of the Proprie- 
tary.f But their power was near its end. 

Cromwell had grown weary of republicanism. He had 
rejected the title of king for the power of dictator and had 
sought to gather about him the old nobility of England. The 
republicanism of the Puritans was therefore no longer a rec- 
ommendation, and the prospects of the Proprietary began to 
brighten daily. Bennett, the agent of the Puritans, soon per- 
ceived the turn of affairs and, despairing of maintaining their 
supremacy, hastened to make an agreement with Lord Balti- 
more in their name by which the whole province was to be 
surrendered to its rightful owner, leaving the disputes which 
had arisen and the ofi^ences which had been committed during 
the troubles to the adjudication of the protector. It was also 
agreed that patents for their lands, under the condition of 
plantation, should be issued to them and all persons desirous 
of quitting the province should have the privilege of doing so 
without hindrance. Lord Baltimore further pledged himself 
never to consent to the repeal of the law in favor of freedom 
of conscience which the Puritans now desired to be enforced 
as a protection to themselves.* This agreement Governor 
Fendall brought with him on his return from England in 1658, 
together with instructions relative to grants of lands ; order- 
ing, among others, a grant of ten thousand acres to Edward 
Eltonhead. The agreement placed restrictions upon the gov- 
ernor's powers and subjected him in their exercise to the advice 
and consent of Philip Calvert, or, in case of the latter's death, 
of Thomas Cornwallis, the early hero of the colony, its leader, 
and the steady friend at once of Proprietary and people. 
Barber surendered his powers into the hands of Governor 
Fendall, the articles of agreement were publicly read and a 
day appointed for the meeting of the rival authorities at St. 



t Bacon. 

* Bozman, vol. 2, p. 554. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 63 

Leonard's Creek. On the 22d of March both parties assem- 
bled at the place designated, but the Puritans objected to a 
clause in the oath of fidelity, demanded a mutual indemnity 
for all past transactions, and requested that they might not be 
disarmed and left defenceless at the m.ercy of the Indians. 
Upon consideration, so far as regarded persons already in the 
province, the oath was modified and the remaining demands 
conceded by the governor and council and, two days after, 
the amended agreement was solemnly adopted, Fendall's com- 
mission as governor of Maryland read and proclaimed and 
writs issued for a General Assembly to be held at St. Leon- 
ards on the 27th of April following.* 

Thus ended the ascendency of the Puritans in Maryland 
and the colony was once more peacefully restored to the gov- 
ernment of the Lord Proprietary after nearly six years of suc- 
cessful rebellion. No sooner had Governor Fendall over- 
thrown the power of the Puritans, however, than he set about 
undermining that of the Lord Proprietary. At the session of 
1659, the House of Delegates, doubtless by his contrivance, 
demanded that the governor and council should no longer sit 
as an upper house, as they had done since the year 1649, ^^'^ 
claimed for itself the rights of supreme judicial and legislative 
power. For a time Fendall made a show of resistance, but 
soon he yielded, and, with two of his council, took his seat in 
the lower house.f The upper house was then declared dis- 
solved, and Fendall, having resigned his commission from the 
Lord Proprietary into the hands of the Assembly, accepted 
from that body a new one in their own name and by their 
own authority. To secure obedience to this new and almost 
republican government an act was passed declaring it to be 
felony to disturb the existing order of things and the people 
were commanded by proclamation to acknowledge no author- 
ity except that which came immediately from the assembly 
or from the king, who had now been restored to the throne 



* Bozman, vol. 2, 562. 
t McMahon. 



64 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of England.* But the power of this new rebel was of short 
duration. The people were tired of intestine commotions and 
looked back with regret to the mild government of Leonard, 
Calvert. They, therefore, readily submitted to Philip Cal- 
vert, whom Lord Baltimore appointed governor upon receiv- 
ing the intelligence of Fendall's rebellion, and who now ap- 
peared among them armed only with the proclamation of the 
king, which commanded all his faithful subjects to yield him 
obedience. Kendall gave himself up, and contrary to the ex- 
press orders of Lord Baltimore, was respited by the governor 
from the punishment which he had merited. He made use 
of his clemency only to excite new troubles in after days. 

Of the precise object of Fendall's designs it is now diffi- 
cult to form an estimate. That they tended almost to repub- 
licanism there can be no doubt; possibly he hoped by the 
overthrow of the power of Lord Baltimore to secure to the 
legislature of the colony a virtual supremacy with only a 
nominal subjection to the king. His chief associates were 
]\Ir. Robert Slye, Speaker of the House and Mr. Gerard and. 
Col. Nathaniel Utye, two members of his council. It is not 
improbable that the idea of colonial independence had al- 
ready entered their minds. 

Of Claiborne, the arch-disturber of the peace of Mary- 
land, little further is known. After this last overthrow of 
his persistent schemes against the province of Maryland he 
abandoned all hope of a successful struggle with the power 
of his ancient enemies, and retired into Virginia where he 
settled in New Kent county, probably named by himself in 
remembrance of that beautiful island in the Chesapeake in 
which the hopes of his turbulent and ambitious life had been 
centered and for which he had contended so untiringly. He 
still continued a man of distinction and in 1666 represented 
New Kent in the Virginia House of Delegates.! 



* Bacon, 1658. 
t Burke, 140. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE PROTESTANT REVOLUTION. 

After the storm, a calm succeeded. For a long time 
the government remained fixed and the colony increased in 
numbers, in products and commerce, and enjoyed all those 
blessings which flow from peace and prosperity. 

For a period of thirty years the steady stream of quiet 
advancement flowed on in Maryland, which makes this por- 
tion of its records less fruitful of notable events than that 
which preceded it. At no time in the early history of the 
State were there great wars, civil or foreign, or extensive 
combinations among its Indian foes. Its civil wars were 
almost bloodless ; its Indian enemies were not more difficult 
to subdue than a mere band of robbers. Their depredations 
seldom exceeded a petty theft or occasional murder and a 
single company of men were generally sufficient to repel 
them. In the course of ten years of civil commotion the 
largest force ever brought into the field was not more than 
one-sixth of the enrolled men of the province. It is not in 
m.artial prowess that the most interesting portion of Mary- 
land's early history must be sought. 

The people of the colony, under a brother of its founder,, 
having proclaimed Charles II king, set about legislating* to 
remedy the consequences of the late troubles and to increase 
their prosperity. A mint was established for coining shill- 
ings, port duties were laid and regulations for masters of 
ships adopted, a tax of eighteen pounds of tobacco per head 
was imposed for the proper maintenance of the government 



* 1660 — See Bacon. 65 



66 HISTORY OF MARYLAxVD. 

and special provision was made for soldiers wounded or dis- 
abled in the service of the colony. The mode of payment of 
port duties is worthy of notice as indicating the needs of the 
times. Every vessel having a flush deck fore and aft com- 
ing to trade in the province was required to pay one half 
pound of powder and three pounds of shot for every ton 
burden. To insure the circulation of the new coinage, every 
householder was compelled to take from the mint ten shill- 
ings for each taxable person in his family, for which he was 
to deposit tobacco, at the rate of two pence per pound. For 
nearly two years the affairs of the province were prosper- 
ously conducted by Philip Calvert. In 1662, he was super- 
seded by his nephew, the Hon. Charles Calvert, son of the 
Lord Proprietary and heir of the province. When in 1660 
Philip Calvert had assumed the government of the colony 
its inhabitants numbered twelve thousand. Nothing evidences, 
more strongly the excellence of his administration and that 
of his nephew, than the rapid increase in population. In 
the space of five years it had swollen to sixteen thousand 
souls — an increase of one-third; and in 1671 to twenty 
thousand. As the population increased, it had been found 
necessary to enlarge the number of counties, of which there 
were already seven — St. Marys, founded in 1634; Kent, in 
1650; Anne Arundel, 1650; Calvert, 1654; Charles, 1658; 
Baltimore, 1659; ^"<^ Talbot, i66o-6i.t As yet there were 
few towns, and these never reached extensive growth. St. 
Marys contained but little more than fifty or sixty houses 
and Providence, or Annapolis, was still smaller. The people 
were planters and farmers ; such occupations are not favorable 
to the growth of towns. They obtained all their supplies 
of manufactured articles from the mother country, which 
monopolized their trade. The principal planters found it con- 
venient to make importations of large quantities of goods, 
which they stored away and which served, not only to supply 
their own demands, but also those of their neighbors. Thus, 
to a great extent, was the internal trade provided for through 



tMcMahon; Bacon. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. ^-^ 

St, Marys. There was no manufacturing business to build 
up towns and even the mechanics whose trades were in most 
demand were generally drawn by the convenience of their 
customers from the towns into the clusters of settlements in the 
interior. There was no inlkience, therefore, calculated to foster 
and build up the city but that of its being the seat of govern- 
ment, and it was this alone that sustained St. Marys. • 

The first Assembly, which was convened by Charles Cal- 
vert, continued the spirit of improvement which had charac- 
terized the administration of the late governor. It declared 
the laws of England to be in force in the province, and made 
appropriation for a statehouse and prison. The publication 
of marriages was provided for and an inducement held out 
to farmers to raise English grain, A levy of twenty-five, 
pounds of tobacco on each taxable person was devoted to the 
use of Gov. Charles Calvert.* At the next session, in 1663-4, 
the Assembly was still busied about the administration of 
internal afifairs and laying the foundations of much of the* 
present systems of laws. 

It passed laws for the regulation of the duties of sher- 
iffs, the conveyance of land, the quitting of title, the preser- 
vation of orphan estates, the general administration of jus- 
tice, the appointment of a public notary, the making of fer- 
ries, the erection of a magazine and the improvement of 
harbors. It also passed laws governing the relation of mas- 
ter and slave.f There could be no better picture of the con- 
dition of the settlement, the tendencies of its rulers, and the 
necessities of its people, than the simple enumeration of the 
laws which they found it convenient and proper to adopt. 
Indeed, during this long and peaceful period the history 
of the province is scarcely more than the recital of its do- 
mestic legislation. The law relating to masters and slaves 
is worthy of further notice as the first evidence of the exist- 
ence of slavery in Maryland. 



* Bacon, 1662. 
t Bacon, 1663-4. 



68 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

The introduction of negro slavery into the colony was 
at a very early period. Slaves made their first appearance in 
Virginia in 1620 when a Dutch ship touched at that colony 
with a cargo of slaves, of whom twenty were bought by the 
Virginians. When the Indians " first beheld these black peo- 
ple they thought them a breed of devils " and for a long time 
called them " Manitto " — a word signifying either God or 
devil. '' When the whites first came," said an old Indian 
long afterwards, " our fathers believed they were surely gods, 
but the appearance in their midst of this new and, to them, • 
hideous race completely astonished them and confused their 
preconceived ideas of things."* In 1663, for the first time, 
distinct mention of negro slaves is made in the laws of the 
colony and it is evident that there were already many in the 
province. Throughout the laws of Maryland a strong dis- 
tinction is constantly drawn between the terms " servant " 
and " slave." Prior to the act of 1663 many laws v/ere passed 
relating to the condition of servants and apprentices, but the 
only use of the word " slave," is in the act of 1638 " for the 
liberties of the people," which describes '" the people," as 
consisting of all Christian inhabitants, " slaves only excepted"! 
— a term which is never, elsewhere, applied to any but negroes. 
As slavery^ existed in Virginia prior to the settlement of Mary- 
land, it is probable that it was introduced gradually, with the 
increasing wealth of the settlers of the new colony. 

There was another species of servant in the colony, how- 
ever, of whom frequent mention is made. These in time 
came to make up a large portion of the population. White 
emigrants, who were unable to bear the expenses of a voyage 
to the new world, or to maintain themselves upon their arrival, 
bound themselves to serve for a limited number of years 
any one who would advance the necessary funds. In time 
this practice became extensive. Indentures were made to the 
captain of the ship or some other person, and, upon their 
arrival in the colony, the unexpired time of the servant 



* Kalm's Travels in North America, 1748. 

t Bacon, 1638; Holmes' Annals, vol. i, p. 256. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 69 

was sold to the highest bidder. In the early stage of the 
colony they were called indented apprentices, afterwards the 
general term of " redemptioners " was applied to them. Upon 
the expiration of their term of service they became useful 
citizens and enjoyed the same franchises as their former mas- 
ters. 

The very industry of the planters and the fertility of the 
soil now brought unexpected difficulties not only on Mary- 
land, but also on her sister colonies of Virginia and Carolina. 
At first the high price of tobacco led the greater portion of 
the people to devote their attention to its cultivation and a 
greatly increased production was the consequence. A fall 
in the price ensued, and a deterioration in the quality of the 
article, due to careless culture, reduced its value so low that 
the year's produce would scarcely supply clothes to the plant- 
ers. A scarcity of corn was also frequently felt through 
the neglect to put out sufficient crops and the Assembly of 
Maryland often found it necessary to direct the attention of 
the planters to this subject and to compel them, under severe, 
penalties, to raise at least a certain porportion of corn in addi- 
tion to their tobacco. 

In 1663 the evil had become so great that the king him- 
self urged remedial action upon the consideration of the col- 
onies. There were only two remedies — a diminution of the 
quantity raised or a cessation for a time of its cultivation. 
For either purpose joint action of the three colonies was re- 
quired, and accordingly commissioners from Maryland and 
Virginia met at Wicomocomico to arrange a basis for the 
necessary treaty. It was determined at this meeting, that 
after the twentieth of June of the succeeding year, no tobacco 
should be planted in either colony, that the Assembly of 
Maryland should be called to ratify the agreement — and that 
the governors and councils of both colonies should solemnly 
swear to use their utmost efforts to have the laws passed in 
pursuance of the agreement and carried into effect.* This 



* Burke's History of Virginia, vol. 2, p. 134. 



70 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

scheme, however, was not perfected until 1666 when the As- 
sembly of Maryland passed an act f prohibiting the planting 
of tobacco throughout the province for one year from the 
ist of February, 1666, to the ist of February, 1667. Formal 
notice of this act, together with a copy of the governor's 
proclamation, was forwarded to V'irginia by the chancellor and 
the legislature of that colony declared in force a similar meas- 
ure, provisionally adopted by them at the preceding session. 
The Lord Proprietary disapproved of the act of the Maryland 
Assembb^ but his " disassent " was not signified until the 
November following, when the law had already produced the 
desired effect. 

The fame of the liberty enjoyed in Maryland had already 
gone abroad and persons of different nationalities sought an 
asylum within her borders and were admitted to the rights 
of citizenship. Thus, in 1666, an act was passed for the natur- 
alization of several families from France, Spain, and Bohemia. 
Similar acts constantly recur in the proceedings of subsequent 
legislatures.:]: 

In England, in Virginia, in Massachusetts and the north, 
the pillory and the whipping post awaited members of the 
Society of Friends ; everywhere, save in Maryland, they were 
proscribed. There, only, was their religious worship " held 
publicly and without interruption. "§ " In Maryland," says 
Burke, II " where the governor and a majority of the people 
were papists and royalists, a religion and government whose 
spirit is thought to be hostile to liberty, and averse to tolera- 
tion, they were immediately hailed as brothers and admitted 
to all the rights of freemen." The members of the colonial 
legislature and the council, many persons of quality and jus- 
tices of the peace, came together to listen to the preaching of 
George Fox, the zealous leader of the Quakers, while he tar- 



t Bacon. 

tibid. 

§ Bancroft, vol. 2. p. 237. 

II History of Virginia, vol. 2, p. 131. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 71 

ried in Maryland.* The emperor of the Nanticokes and his 
subject kings and their • subordinate chief s, gathered around 
him to hear his words. The heir of the province was present 
at one of these assemblies. For a time, however, the Friends 
were involved in difficulties with the government from their 
refusal to perform military duty and their rejection of oaths ; 
but at a later period they were relieved from these trammels. 

From the date of the treaty with the Susquehannahs, 
in 1652, the frontiers of the settlements had been but little 
molested. The Susquehannahs, once so powerful, had begun 
to give place to the Senecas, a portion of the Five Nations, 
who penetrated through the province of Pennsylvania, con- 
quering and driving before them the Indian inhabitants and 
molesting the white settlers. Occasional bodies of these dar- 
ing marauders approached the frontiers of Moryland ; and it 
was found necessary, for a time, to maintain a body of rangers, 
under Captain John Allen, for their protection. In the sum- 
mer of 1675, ^ number of murders and outrages had been 
committed on the people of Virginia and Maryland residing 
along the Potomac, by a band of savages and suspicion fell 
upon the Susquehannahs. A joint expedition was sent by 
the two provinces to chastise them. The Virginia forces were 
under the command of Colonel Washington — those of Mar}-- 
land under Major Trueman. On Monday, the 25th of Sep- 
tember, the Maryland troops appeared before a fort of the 
Piscataways held by the Susquehannahs, and were met by a 
deputation of chiefs who laid the blame of the inroid upon 
the Senecas, who, they stated, were by that time at the head 
of the Patapsco river on their return. 

The next morning, Colonel Washington, Colonel Mason 
and Major Adderton of the Virginia troops joined Major 



* 1666. Bancroft. Note. — During his stay in Maryland, Fox, with 
his companions, Barclay and Keith, paid a visit to the Labadists, a 
religious community established on Bohemia Manor, whose practices 
had much in common with those of the Friends, and endeavored to 
effect a union with them. — James, the Labadist Colony in Mar3dand, 
p. 29. 



^2 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Trueman and were visited by the same deputation. They 
charged these Indians with the murders which had been com- 
mitted. Thereupon Major Trueman, yielding to the advice 
of his associates, caused five of the chiefs to be bound and 
put to death. They continued to affirm their innocence, and 
in the vain hope of securing their safety, displayed a silver 
medal and some papers which had been given them by former 
governors of Maryland in token of amity and protection. 
This severe proceeding attracted the indignation of the House 
of Delegates and an inquiry was set on foot. Major Trueman 
was impeached before the upper house for the murder of the 
five Indian chiefs, who had come into his camp in the guise 
of envoys. He pleaded guilty, and a bill of attainder was 
brought in against him. Such extenuating circumstances were 
adduced by the defendant that the House refused to pass sen- 
tence of death upon him and, a dispute arising between the 
two houses, as to their respective powers as well as the guilt 
of the accused, he escaped punishment.* . The importance 
given to the afifair proves, at least, the strict justige of the 
people of Maryland in their intercourse with the natives, and 
the horror with which a breach of faith towards them was 
viewed. 

Charles Calvert continued to act as governor until the 
death of his father on the 30th of November, 1675, by which 
event he became himself the lord Proprietary. Intending to 
return to England as soon as possible, he convened an Assem- 
bly for the purpose of reducing to some system the laws of 
the colony, to many of which his father had not given his 
assent. " A general revision took place and those laws which 
were thought proper to be continued were definitely ascer-, 
tained."t During his administration as governor the Assem- 
bly had effected many improvements. Roads had been built, 
courthouses and jails erected, coroners appointed in all the 
counties, and the publication of the laws within the province 
by proclamtion of the sheriff in the county courts provided 



* Annals of Annapolis, pp. 66-82. 
t McMahon, p. 215. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 



73 



for. In 1 67 1 the Assembly granted to Lord Baltimore a duty 
of two shillings per hundred weight on all tobacco exported 
from Maryland. One half of the proceeds were to be applied 
to the defence of the province, the other to his own use as 
partial compensation for his great expenditure in establishing 
the colony, which was estimated to have exceeded forty thous- 
and pounds sterling in the two first years. Out of this grant 
great difficulties afterwards arose. 

Having reformed the system of laws and believing his 
presence no longer necessary in the province, the lord Pro- 
prietary appointed Thomas Notely, Esq., deputy governor, 
during his absence, to act in the name of his infant son, Cecil 
Calvert, as nominal go\Ternor, and returned to England in the 
year 1676. Upon his arrival, he found that complaints had 
been made against his government by certain Episcopal clergy- 
men, who represented the province as in a frightful condition, 
and proposed, as a remedy, that a support should be provided 
for them by law.* They inveighed against him, because the 
Catholic priests held landed estates in the colony. In rebuttal. 
Lord Baltimore pointed to the. laws of toleration in force in 
the province, and to the conditions under which these lands 
had been acquired. He was advised by the committee of 
trade and the plantations, to whom the matter was referred,, 
to provide a public support for the clergy of the church of 
England.f This he declined to do and so thus ended the first 
effort to establish the Episcopal church by law in Maryland. 
The authorities of "V^irginia had charged his government with 
not assisting in the defence of the frontiers. This complaint 
was also declared to be groundless. In 1680 Lord Balti;^ 
more returned to ]\Iaryland and once more assumed the 
personal direction of its government. During his absence a 
singular case had been brought before the General Assembly. 
A physician named Edward Husbands was charged with at- 
tempting to poison the governor and the members of the two 
houses. He met the charge with great warmth, cursing the 



* McMahon, 216. 

{• Bancroft, vol. 2, p. 242. 



74 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Assembly, for which he was sentenced to be forever burred 
from practising as a surgeon, and to receive twenty lashes on 
the bare back. He was bound over to appear before the pro- 
vincial court to answer the charge of attempting to poison. 
It is probable that Lord Baltimore on his return stayed these 
arbitrary proceedings, as he dissented f from every act passed 
during that year, and no further mention is made of Husbands 
or his alleged offence. 

In the following year, Fendall, still revolving his restless 
projects, attempted, in conjunction with an Episcopal clergy- 
man named Coode, to excite a rebellion among the people. 
They failed, were arrested, tried and convicted ; but escaped 
with their lives, to further disturb the peace of the province. 
For four years the Proprietary continued to govern the colony 
in person. In 1684, the complexion of affairs in England 
seeming to demand his presence there, he appointed a council 
of nine deputies, with William Joseph president, to ■ direct 
the affairs of the province, under the nominal governorship 
of his infant son, Benedict Leonard Calvert ; and departed 
from the colony, little imagining that he was bidding it adieu ^ 
forever. When he reached England, he found James II on 
the throne, and his province in greater peril than it had been 
under his father, Charles II, who had threatened him with the 
issuance of a writ of quo warranto. Danger impended alike 
from the king and from the enemies of the king. At length, 
in April, 1687, the writ of quo warranto was issued, requiring. 
Lord Baltimore to show cause why the charter should not be 
forfeited. But before the proceedings could be brought to a 
termination the king was deposed and driven out of England 
by the re\olution of 1688. While the charter was saved, the 
authority of the Lord Proprietary was overthrown by an up- 
rising of the people. Events in Maryland were bringing to a 
close the long period of repose and toleration enjoyed under 
the mild administration of the second Lord Proprietary, for 
dissensions, excited by the troubles in the mother country at 
length broke out into open revolution. 

t Bacon, 1674. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 75 

For thirty years religious freedom had prevailed in 
Maryland. Until the last few years, no distinction had been 
made in the matter of religious creeds, and then, only because 
Lord Baltimore was compelled by order of the king to select 
his officers entirely from the Protestant inhabitants of the 
colony. The feeling which caused the revolution m England 
extended its effects to Maryland. The Lord Proprietary; 
upon the success of the revolution in England, announced 
his adherence to William and Mary and transmitted orders- • 
to his deputies to have their accession to the throne proclaimed 
in the province. Unfortunately these instructions were de- 
layed, and, even after the new sovereigns had been acknowl- 
edged in the surrounding colonies, the authorities awaited 
directions from the Lord Proprietary. The ill-will of the 
people had already been excited against the deputies by an 
attempt to infringe upon the rights of the Assembly, and 
every measure which they now adopted, being viewed through 
the eyes of prejudice tended only to strengthen suspicion and 
confirm opposition. The settlements were filled with disturb- 
ing rumors. The deputies in vain sought to stop their circu- 
lation. The public arms were collected, in apprehension of 
a general outbreak. The unfortunate delay in proclaimin.j*^ 
William and Mary brought matters to a crisis. 

In April, 1689, "An association in arms for the defence 
of the Protestant religion, and for asserting the rights of 
King William and Queen Mary to the province of Maryland, 
and all the English dominions," was formed ; at its head was 
John Coode who had once before been found guilty of treason 
and rebellion. The deputies were driven for protection to. 
the garrison of Mattapany, which was beseiged and compelled 
to surrender in the following August, leaving the associators 
in undisputed possession of the province. Coode was a man 
of loose morals and desperate habits. Although a minister 
of the church of England, he was presented for atheism and 
blasphemy by the grand jury, under the very government 
which he was now foremost in establishing. To escape triil 
he fled into Virginia, whence he frequently came back in 
secret to the province, declaring that as he had overthrown 



76 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

one government, he would Dull down another. His attempts 
however failed and he was at last taken, tried and convicted, 
hut pardoned in consideration of the services he had rendered 
during the revolution of 1689.* 

J The first act of the associators was to call a convention of 
the people, which met at St. Marys on the 23d of August, 
1689. They drew up and forwarded to the king an account 
of their proceedings which was filled with accusations against 
Lord Baltimore and his government. The king sustained the 
acts of a revolution which was only a continuation of that 
which had placed him upon the throne and the province for 
a time continued under the administration of the convention. 
Anxious, however, to secure the domination of their party 
under the name of the king they requested him to take the 
government of the colony into his own hands ; and, accord- 
ingly, in 1691, he appointed Sir Lionel Copley governor. 

Sir Lionel arrived in Maryland in the ensuing year, and, 
on the 9th of April, dissolved the convention and summoned 
a General Assembly, which met on the loth of May, 1692, rit 
the city of St. Marys. Its first act was the recognition of 
William and Mary ; its next the establishment of the Episcopal 
as the State Church of Maryland. Every county was divided 
into parishes and taxes were levied upon the people w-ithnut 
distinction for the support of the ministers and the repair of 
the old and the building of new churches. f " Thus," says 
McMahon, " was introduced, for the first time in ]Maryland, a 
church establishment, sustained by law, and fed by general 
taxation. "I But matters did not rest here; persecution fol- 
lowed disfranchisement. The Catholics had already been de- 
prived of the right of holding offices ; and the new govern- 
ment did not wait long before it proceeded to severer measures. 
In 1704 an act was passed " to prevent the growth of popery," 
by which it was made a penal offence for a bishop or priest 
of the Catholic church to say mass or to perform any of their 



* McMahon, 239. 
t Bacon, 1688. 
JPage 243. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. y-j 

offices or for any Catholic to teach school. But the harshness 
of these measures was not fully sustained by public opinion; 
and, by subsequent legislation Catholic priests were permitted 
to exercise their functions in private houses. Out of this 
privilege grew a custom of erecting chapels, under the same 
roof, and connected with the dwelling of some Catholic family, 
where Catholics might gather to enjoy the exercise of their 
religion. But the intolerance of the established church did 
not spend its zeal upon Catholics alone. It had no sympathy 
with Protestantism that differed from itself. Dissenters, as 
they were called by the Episcopalians, were deprived of the 
equal rights and privileges which they had formerly enjoyed 
under the rule of the Proprietary. Quakers were treated with 
indignity and their meetings for silent prayer and meditation 
declared unlawful assemblages. In 1702, however, the pro- 
visions of the English toleration act for "Dissenters" were 
extended to Maryland, and in 1706 relief was granted to the 
Quakers. "And thus, in a colony which was established by 
Catholics, and grew up to power and happiness under the 
government of a Catholic, the Catholic inhabitant was the 
only victim of religious intolerance."* The supremacy of the 
" law church " over all others was still, however, maintained. 

Having endeavored to prevent the increase of Catholics 
at home, they determined to cut off all accessions to their- 
numbers from abroad. Laws, restraining their emigration 
into the colony were passed and frequently re-enacted down 
to the revolution of 1776. These restrictions and oppressions 
produced their effect — and the Catholic population continued 
to decrease, until, in 1758, seventy years after the Protestant 
revolution, according to the statement of Governor Sharpe, 
they numbered only one-thirteenth of the population. 

The Assembly next endeavored to deprive the Proprie- 
tary of his rights in the province. He was still entitled to all 
the unsettled lands, with the right of making grants of them 
and to the quit rents and certain duties or imposts not con- 
nected with the government. Among these was the port duty 



* McMahon, 246. 



78 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and the duty of two shillings per hundred on all tobacco 
exported from the colony. The king, being appealed to bv 
Lord Baltimore, issued a royal letter authorizing him to collect 
his revenues in the province, but the convention refused to 
submit. They threw his agents into prison. Sir Lionel Cop- 
ley had been directed by the king to protect the rights of Lord 
Baltimore and ensure the cohection of his dues. Darnall, the 
receiver-general of the Proprietary, however, still met with 
opposition, and it was not until the matter was expressly de- 
cided by the king and council in favor of Lord Baltimore, 
that the Assembly yielded up to him his port and tonnage 
duties, and entered into a compromise in relation to the issuing 
of land patents.* 

The people of St. Marys and the surrounding country 
had adhered to the Proprietary in all his struggles and the 
Assembly determined to punish them by removing the seat of 
government. But a more sufficient reason was found in the^ 
fact that the settlements had extended fir into the interior and 
along the shores of the bay, and St. Marys was thus on the 
verge of the colony and difificult of access to the members 
of the legislature and those who had business before that body 
and the courts. In vain St. Marys prayed and protested ; 
her existence depended upon the possession of the seat of gov- 
ernment and her authorities offered to provide a public con-, 
veyance to run from Patuxent daily during the sessions of the 
Assembly and the courts and weekly for the rest of the year. 
The Assembly rejected their prayers and the seat of govern- 
ment was removed to " the townland at Proctor's," or Provi- 
dence, which was thenceforth called Annapolis. St. Marys 
dwindled into practical extinction and "in the very State to 
which it gave birth, and the land it redeemed from the wilder- 
ness, it now stands a solitary spot dedicated to God, and a 
fit memento of perishable man."t No effort was spared to 
secure the growth of the new town ; a portion of the popula- 
tion of the old followed the government to Annapolis, which, 

* McMahon, 247. 
t McMahon, 253-5. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 79 

in 1708, was raised to the rank of a city. Four or five years 
later it contained about forty houses ; a statehouse and free 
school of brick and a brick church were soon after erected. 

A controversy arising about the incorporation of Annapo- 
lis, the Assembly displayed its usual firmness. Governor 
Seymour, having failed to obtain a charter for the new city, 
in 1708 granted one in his own name, claiming power to do 
so under the charter of Maryland, which, however, could not 
be interpreted to convey that right to a royal governor who 
ruled in opposition to the charter rights of the Proprietary. 
An election was held in the new city for two delegates to 
represent it in the approaching Assembly. At the opening of 
the session, these deputies attempted to take their seats, but 
were refused admission on the ground that the charter had 
been illegally granted. The lower house was summoned be- 
fore the upper by the governor, who endeavored to conciliate 
them. But they were inflexible ; whereupon the governor dis- 
solved them. A new Assembly was called; but its first act 
was to demand whether the governor had received any author- 
ity from the queen, other than his commission, to erect a city 
and the production of such authorization if he possessed it. 
At length a compromise was effected and the Assembly passed 
an act to confirm the charter with certain specified restrictions.* 

In 1 69 1, Sir Lionel Copley was succeeded by Francis 
Nicholson, who was principally active in securing the success 
of the established church and promoting the cause of educa- 
tion. He was first commissioned in 1691, but being then- 
absent in England, the government was assumed by Sir Ed- 
mond Andros, upon the death of Copley, and exercised by 
him until the arrival of Nicholson in 1694. 

The French war had already broken out on the frontiers 
of the northern colonies and the growth and strength of Mary- 
land and Virginia induced the royal governors to seek their 
assistance. This led to the famous scheme of " crown requi- 
sitions," by which each colony was required to furnish certain 
proportions of men and money to aid in the defence of New 



* McMahon, 255 ; Annals. 



8o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

York, the chief point of assault. The people of Maryland 
generally disregarded or disobeyed these demands. Some- 
times they furnished the assistance required — on one occa- 
sion, being unable to raise ^£133, the sum demanded, it was 
advanced by Governor Nicholson himself. Thomas Taskcr, 
the treasurer of the State, was subsequently despatched witli 
another sum to New York with instructions to represent the 
difficulty with which the money had been raised, the inability 
of the people to meet further demands upon them, and the 
necessity of providing for the defence of their own border. 
Yet, in the next century, this system continucvl for a long time 
and was productive of great good. It taught the colonists 
to rely on their own resources, to know their extent, how to 
husband them, and their great i)ower when tiiey acted unitedly. 
During the governnient of Nicholson, several improvements 
were effected. In 1695 a public post was established, the route 
extending from the Potomac, by way of Annapolis, to Phila- 
delphia. A number of offices were designated on the route 
which the postman was required to traverse eight times a 
year, — to carry all public messages and to deliver letters and 
packages for the inhabitants, for which services he received 
the salary of fifty pounds sterling a year. This rude system 
was sustained only three years. In 1710 the English govern- 
ment found it necessary to establish a general post throughout 
the colonies. In 1696 the Assembly passed an act for the 
establishment of an academy at Annapolis, to be called King 
William's School, and in the succeeding year, through the 
efforts of the governor, a portion of the royal revenues were 
set apart for the purchase of books and the foundation of a 
public library for the institution.* 

In 1704 the Statehouse was destroyed by fire and the 
legislature appropriated the sum of one thousand pounds ster- 
ling for the erection of a new one, holding their sessions in the 
meanwhile in a house rented at twenty pounds a year, from 
Col. Edward Dorsey. The new building was of brick, and was 
finished in 1706. In the conflagration, many of the records 



* Annals of Annapolis, 90, etc. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 8i 

of Anne Arundel county were destroyed, and a special com- 
mission was appointed to hear and determine all disputes con- 
cerning land, in order to remedy the loss. Their decisions 
upon all matters brought before them were recorded, and form 
a portion of the land records of the county.* 

During the twenty-five years of royal dominion in Mary- 
land there is little remarkable in its history beyond boundary 
disputes and the encroachments which the crown was already 
beginning to make upon the liberties of the people. While 
the colony was poor and weak it was permitted to struggle on, 
neglected by the crown, but no sooner had it grown rich and 
populous than the cupidity of England was aroused. In 17017' 
a bill was introduced into parliament for the destruction of the 
charters of Massachusetts. Xew Hampshire, Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the 
Bahama islands, and to sustain it, an effort was made to obtain 
evidence from the colonics against their present systems. An 
order was addressed to the governor of Maryland to collect 
testimony concerning the abuses of the lord Proprietary's gov- 
ernment, but the insignificance of the charges which were 
gathered, proved the justice of his administration and the 
opposition of the people to the proposed change. They, how- 
ever, did not hesitate to allege that their neighbor, Pennsyl- 
vania, was a mere receptacle of runaway slaves, and Jersey, 
the resort of pirates. The agents of the several colonies were 
heard against the measure before parliament, and, so successful 
was their defence, that, although it was favored by the crown, 
it could not be carried through. The ministry, however, did 
not despair. In 171 5. when the government was surrendered 
once more to Lord Baltimore, another effort was made against 
the charters. Again the colonies united in remonstrating 
against the injustice ; and again their united energies pre- 
served for them the constitutions which they loved.f In these 
petty struggles, is found the germ of liberty which led to 
the independence of the nation. 

* Bacon. 1705, ch. 3. 
I McMahon. 272. 



82 HISTORY OF MARVLAXi:). 

The royal government tended to restrain the internal 
progress of the colony. In 1671, its population had already 
risen to nearly twenty thousand ; at the close of the royal 
domination, forty-four years later, it had only reached thirty 
thousand, a large portion of which increase must be set down 
to the period before the revolution of 1688-9. After that event, 
the same inducements for emigration no longer existed — the 
Catholic — instead of toleration found oppression, and the "dis- 
senter" met with no encouragement to cast his lot within the bor- 
ders of Maryland. Lands were no longer given as a bounty and 
the fluctuations of the tobacco trade auil the distress occasioned 
by the neglect of other agricultural pursuits not only discour- 
aged immigration, but induced the departure of many of the 
old inhabitants to seek homes elsewhere. To add to these 
misfortunes in 1694-5 an unusual scarcity prevailed and a de- 
structive disease made its appearance among the livestock of 
the farmers and planters. In these two years 25.429 cattle 
and 62,375 hogs died. This was a heavy blow to the colony. 
But their misfortunes did not stop here — two years later a 
violent epidemic made its appearance among the people of 
Qiarlcs county, resulting in great loss of life. 

Heretofore the colonists had been without home manufac- 
tures, relying entirely upon the mother country for their sup- 
plies. But in 1^)97, urged by the difficulty in procuring goods 
from England, an effort was set on foot in Somerset and Dor- 
chester counties to make woollen and linen cloths. Every 
attempt of this kind was closely watched and quickly sup- 
pressed by the British government, which wished to compel 
the colonies to consume goods of English manufacture, as a 
source of profit and a means of securing their dependence 
upon them. Therefore, these efforts to supply a domestic 
manufacture either signally failed or languished and died. 

The era of the royal governors of Maryland was one of 
inaction, during which the limits of the settlements were but 
little advanced, the population but feebly increased and the 
amount of foreign trade and domestic resources, if not dimin- 
ished, at best only remained stationary. The brotherly spirit 
of the law of 1649 ^^^1 departed. Strife and controversy had 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 83 

awakened the bitterest feelings of hostility between Protest- 
ants and Catholics. "At one time, they (the Catholics) were- 
not permitted to walk in front of the courthouse, and were 
actually obliged to wear swords for their personal protection."* 
But the cause of the royal dominion was about to be removed. 
Charles, Lord Baltimore, having reached the age of eighty- 
four years, expired on the 20th of February, 1714, full of 
years and honors. 



McMahon. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE RESTORATION OF THE PROVINCE. 

Upon the decease of the lord Proprietary, his title and his 
province descended to his son, Benedict Leonard Calvert. He 
had abandoned the faith of his father and become a Protes- 
tant, but only lived long enough to be acknowledged lord Pro- 
prietarv-. By his death, on the i6th of April, 1715, the title 
to the province devolved upon his infant heir, Charles Calvert, 
who, with his brothers and sisters, was reared a Protestant. 
There beinj:^ no longer any obstacle on the score of religion, 
the government of the province was restored and a commis- 
sion was issued in his name by Lord Guilford, his guardian, to 
Hart, the last royal governor, continuing him as the represen- 
tative of the Proprietary. The restoration produced but little 
change in the province. Scarcely, however, had it been con- 
summated before a second attempt against the charters of the 
several colonies was made in parliament. A petition was pre- 
sented, in the name of the youthful Lord Baltimore, stating 
that he and his brothers and sisters were Protestants, and that 
they depended for their support upon their revenues from 
Alaryland and praying that the province might be spared. The 
other colonies resisted also, and the project was abandoned. 
The first legislature which assembled under the new Proprie- 
tary passed a body of laws still further strengthening the 
groundwork of their liberties. But there was one act of a 
contrary tendency, which the great Revolution abrogated. It 
introduced into Maryland all the test oaths and disabilities 
which were in force in England. 

For a period of forty years the colony enjoyed almost 
undisturbed tranquillity. Its chief incidents were contests be- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 85 

tween the governor and council and the delegates of the peo- 
ple in the lower house. Its only warlike measures consisted 
of grants of men occasionally sent to the assistance of the 
northern colonies. The first controversy arose about the ex- 
tension of the laws of England to the colony. The Proprie- 
tary desired to limit their introduction as interfering with his 
own legislatve rights as well as those of the people ; while the 
people themselves demanded the adoption of all such laws as 
might be beneficial to them or which might tend in any way to 
extend or secure their rights. A war of petitions and pro- 
tests, resolutions, dissents, addresses and proclamations en- 
sued. For ten years the struggle continued and the sturdy 
commoners did not cease their efforts, until, in 1732, they had 
achieved the substance of their demands. The next advance 
in the path of freedom related to the revenues of the Proprie- 
tary. 

In 1739, the Assembly resolved that the duties levied by 
the Proprietary were unjust and oppressive and protested 
against the settling of officers' fees by proclamation by the 
governor and the creation of new offices with new fees without 
the consent of the Assembly. They passed a bill for the ap- 
pointment of an agent in London to carry their grievances 
before the crown. It was rejected by the upper house. De- 
termined not to be silenced, the low-er house selected a com- 
mittee of their own body to perform the same duty, at the 
same time authorizing them to employ an agent in London, 
thus avoiding the possible interference of the upper house. 
But the governor's party fell upon a scheme to counteract this 
design. The Assembly was prorogued and it was immediately 
contended that the power of the committee ceased with the 
existence of the body from which it was derived and of which 
the committee itself was part. Baffled for the time, the popu- 
lar party did not cease their exertions ; and at the opening of 
the next session in 1740, they renewed their opposition. They 
were successful in a measure and obtained the right of full 
access to the records which had been before denied them, ap- 
pointed their agent and sent him full instructions and testi- 



86 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

mony to sustain his applications.* Some of their demands 
were granted, bnt the tonnage and tobacco duties continued 
a standing subject of complaint and resistance until the Revo- 
lutionary War closed all controversies and removed all griev- 
ances. 

From the earliest period the government of the colony 
had pursued the peaceful and just policy of extinguishing by 
purchase the title of the Indians to the lands within the limits 
of the province. Where the affection of the natives for the 
graves of their fathers proved stronger than the inducement 
of material advantage they were permitted to remain, and 
were protected in the unmolested enjoyment of their hunting 
grounds. Thus, in 1698, an act was passed, and renewed in 
1704, to assure to Panquash and Annotoughquan, two kings 
of the Nanticokcs. and their subjects, the possession of their 
lands in Dorchester county, " it being most just." says this 
equitable law, " th^it the Indians, the ancient inhabitants of this 
province, should have a convenient dwelling place in this their 
native country, free from the encroachments and oppressions 
of the English ; especially the Nanticoke Indians, in Dorches- 
ter county, who for these many years have lived in peace and 
concord wath the English, and. in all matters, in obedience 
to the government of this province."! As an acknowledgment 
of the authority of Lord Baltimore, the were required to pay 
him, annually, the nominal tribute of a single beaver skin. 
Thus it appears that even the warlike Nanticokes had yielded 
to the colonial government and become peaceful dwellers under 
its protection. By degrees they began to remove, and in 1748, 
the great body of them departed from the eastern shore to 
Wyoming and Chemenk, carrying with them the disinhumed 
bones of their fathers to deposit them in other graves in their 
new settlements.:]: Before their finnl departure, however, their 
friendly relations with the whites became disturbed. Insti- 
gated by the Senecas, they entered into a conspiracy with them 



* McMahon, 283. 

t Bacon, 1704. ch. 58. 

t Holmes' Annals, vol. 2, p. ^7 — note. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 87 

to rise and massacre the settlers. The attempt arose out of 
the dissatisfaction of the Senecas at the faihire of a claim 
which the Six Nations asserted to the lands west of the Sus- 
quehanna, in Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was discovered 
by the governor of Pennsylvania, and by him communicated 
to the authorites of Maryland, who promptly placed the fron- 
tiers in a state of defence.^ The alarm which had been excited 
in the colony by this unexpected, and probably exaggerated 
affair, soon subsided ; but it served to warn the government 
to adhere to its early policy. 

The tribes of the Six Nations were the most powerful 
confederacy of Indians on the continent, and, to prevent any 
further difficulty with them, it was determined to extinguish 
their claims to territory in Maryland by purchase. At the 
session of 1742 the governor recommended this subject for the 
consideration of the Assembly. They concurred in his views, 
but a contest arose as to the power of appointing commission- 
ers to effect the proposed arrangement. The Assembly as- 
serted their right to select a portion and named Dr. Robert 
King and Charles Carroll to act in conjunction with the ap- 
pointees of the governor, and laid down certain instructions 
for the guidance of their conduct. Governor Bladen consid- 
ered this as an usurpation of his power and refused to con- 
firm their proceedings. The House remained firm and the 
negotiation was suspended. Having failed to bring his oppo- 
nents to subjection, in 1744 Governor P>laden on his own re- 
sponsibility appointed commissioners who, in conjunction with 
the representatives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, met at Lan- 
caster, Pa., and concluded a treaty with the Six Nations, 
whereby, in consideration of the payment of three hundred 
pounds current money, they agreed to relinquish all claim 
to any territory within the boundaries of IMaryland. 

The planting of towns and cities was encouraged by early 
Maryland legislation and a number of acts were passed estab- 
lishing towns,* though few of them ever grew to any impor- 



t Burke, vol. 3, p. 106. 

* Bacon, 1683, ch. 5; 1684. ch. 2; 1688,; 1716, ch. 14, etc. 



88 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tance. In 1729 Baltimore was laid out in sixty lots on the 
lands of Charles Carroll, by commissioners appointed by the 
legislature; and in 1732, it was increased by an addition of 
ten acres, on the land of Edw^ard Fell. The advantages which 
it possessed from a commercial point of view soon began to 
draw population and attract enterprize ; and, while the numer- 
ous other towns erected by the legislature either remained 
unsettled or soon died away, Baltimore grew and flourished. 
For a time Elkridge Landing was a great tobacco market and 
vied with it for the commerce of the northern part of the colony. 
But the superior advantages of Baltimore soon enabled it to 
surpass its rival. In the meanwhile. Annapolis had continued 
to grow, and being the seat of a rich and aristocratic govern- 
ment, drew around it the wealth and fashion of the province. 
There the fine arts found patronage and literature began to 
spring up. As a testimony of its advancement it could boast 
in 1745 the earliest and for a long time the only newspaper 
printed in the colony. The first number of the " Maryland 
Gazette" was issued on the 27th of January, 1745, by Jonas 
Green, who had been appointed printer to the province in 1740. 
This paper continued to be published by the descendants of its 
founder until 1839, in which year it was discontinued. A 
printing press, however, had been established in the colony as 
early as 1726 for the purpose of printing the laws and public 
documents, which, prior to that date, had been printed at Phila- 
delphia by William Bradford.* Annapolis bore worthily the 
title of " the Athens of America."t 

After Baltimore, the most important of the new towns 
because of its subsequent growth, was Frederick ; the county 
town of Frederick county, situated in the rich and fertile val- 
ley w-atered by the Monocacy river. It was laid out in Septem-. 
ber, 1745, by Mr. Patrick Dulany. In 1748, on the forma- 
tion of the new county of Frederick, it was made the county 
town and is now the second city in Maryland. Georgetown, 
now in the District of Columbia, was, laid out under an act- 



* Holmes' Annals, vol. i. p. 539. 
t Annals ; McMahon. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 89 

of Assembly in 1751, in eighty lots, comprising sixty acres of 
land.* An inspection house for tobacco already existed there, 
and the new town at the head of navigation on the Potomac 
possessed advantages which soon gave it strength and life. 

The requisitions which had heretofore been made upon 
Maryland by the crown had been confined to assistance to the 
northern colonies ; but a great expedition was contemplated in 
1740 against the Spanish dominions in the new world. To 
meet the expense of raising and equipping five hundred volun- 
teers, Maryland's quota, the legislature appropriated the sum 
of twenty-five hundred and sixty-two pounds. But this being 
found insufficient in a subsequent session of the same year 
five thousand pounds was voted and an indemnity from the 
prescribed penalties granted to the owners and captains of the 
vessels which might transport the troops to the place of ren- 
dezvous in the islands, should there be indentured apprentices 
among them.:|: Every colony north of Carolina was called on 
for its quota and all responded. § At Jamaica, the place of 
rendezvous, in the beginning of the year/ 741 were assembled 
twenty-nine ships of the line, and eighty smaller vessels. They 
were manned by fifteen thousand sailors and bore an army 
of twelve thousand soldiers completely armed and equipped — ■ 
the most considerable up to that time ever gathered in those 
waters. The land force was under command of Wentworth, ' 
the naval under Vernon. They attacked Carthagena, one of 
the strongest of the Spanish towns, and captured several forts, 
but were finally repulsed with terrible destruction. Sickness 
raged throughout the fleet and camp ; men died in crowds, and 
were cast into the sea. What share the Maryland forces bore 
in the expedition is not known, but it is said that nine out of 
ten of the colonial levies perished. The fleet returned to Ja- 
maica in November after an absence of nine months, during 



* Bacon. 
±Ibid. 
§ Bancroft. 



90 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

which it is computed twenty thousand men lost their Hves.* 
Yet the colonists seem not to have been dispirited by the dis- 
astrous result of this powerful armament, and, on the 26th of 
June, 1746, the Assembly voted another supply of four thou- 
sand five hundred pounds, to raise a body of men to aid in an 
expedition against Canada.f The requisition was met with 
promptness, and before the summer had passed, three com- 
panies raised in the province by Captains Campbell, Croft and 
Jordan sailed from Annapolis, " with cheerful hearts, in high 
spirits and all well clothed and accoutred, to join the main 
body of the forces, "$ In November of the same year, a fur- 
ther appropriation of eleven hundred pounds was made to pay 
the additional expenses of this volunteer force. 

In 1 75 1 Charles, Lord Baltimore died, havii:ig ruled his 
province, in person or by his governors, for the space of 
thirty-six years. His was an era marked by general internal 
peace, and increasing prosperity, but replete with acts testi- 
fying to the unyielding spirit of the people in the maintainance 
of their rights, and their zeal for their extension. During 
this period seven governors presided over the province. John 
Hart was commissioned in 171 5 — Charles Calvert succeeded 
him in 1727. Benedict Leonard Calvert, brother of the Lord 
Proprietary, was appointed in 1727, but, being compelled by 
ill health to return to England, Samuel Ogle was named to 
replace him. In 1733, Lord Baltimore himself, finding his 
presence necessary in the colony because of the acute nature 
of the boundary disputes with Pennsylvania, arrived in Mary- 
land and assumed the government in person. Upon his return 
to England, two years later, he appointed Mr. Ogle his repre- 
sentative. In 1742, Thomas Bladen was commissioned and 
continued to rule the province until 1747, when Mr. Ogle was 
for the third time appointed. He continued in office two years 
after the death of Lord Baltimore. 



* Bancroft 

t Bacon. 

$ Annals of Annapolis. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 91 

In this period the colony increased more rapidly than 
during the royal administration. Since 1660, seven new coun- 
ties had been laid out. Many of the counties formed in these 
early times were later changed in their limits and extent by 
subdivision or alteration by subsequent legislation. Somerset 
was erected by the governor's order of the 22d of August, 
1666 ; Dorchester by the legislature, in 1669 ; Cecil in 1674, 
by the proclamation of Governor Charles Calvert ; Prince 
George's by act of Assembly, in 1695 ; Queen Anne's, in 1706; 
Worcester in 1742, although a county of that name had been 
formed as early as 1672. But the whole of its territory, lying 
within the present limits of Delaware, was lost to Maryland 
when the boundary of that province was adjusted. Frederick 
county was erected in 1748 out of portions of Prince George's, 
Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, and originally included 
the whole territory north and west of these counties. Two 
other counties, Harford and Caroline, were laid out by acts of 
the Assembly at the session of 1773.* Montgomery and Wash- 
ington counties were carved out of Frederick by the Conven- 
tion of 1776. Alleghany was erected out of part of Washing- 
ton, in 1789 and in 1836, Carroll cut off a large tract from Fred- 
erick and Baltimore counties. 

The population of the province in 1748 was estimated at 
130,000 souls, of whom 94,000 were whites and 36,000 blacks. 
In 1756, five years after the death of Charles Lord Baltimore, 
the population was 154,188, of whom 107,963 were whites and 
46,225 black, being an increase of 24,188 in eight years.f 
Along with this extension of population the internal resources 
of the province had developed. The people had always been 
anxious to develop the richness of their soil and were keenly 
appreciative of its agricultural and mineral resources. They 
also had sought to develop manufactures. Linen and woollen 
manufactories were established in Dorchester, but even prior 
to this nearly everv family produced a sufficiency of homespun 
articles for its common use and for the clothing of the ser- 



* McMahon. 

t Holmes makes it in 1755, 108,000. 



92 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

vants and slaves; but the jealousy of England discouraged 
domestic manufactories. The legislature, however, ventured 
to impose a duty upon the exportation of raw hides, leather 
and old iron, for the protection of tanners, shoemakers and 
smiths. Grants of lands were made to those who undertook 
to erect water mills, to encourage the making of flour for 
exportation. Abundance of iron ore was found in the prov- 
ince which could be worked to advantage, but the English 
government, to insure the preference to its own iron, offered 
the payment of a bounty upon the importation of the metal 
into the colony. The legislature, to counteract the effect of 
this measure, in 1719, ordered that a grant of one hundred 
acres of land should be made to every one who would erect 
a furnace or forge. The good effect of this step was evident 
in the erection of a number of works, of which there were 
already, in 1749, eight furnaces and nine forges. Large quan- 
tities of woodland, in addition to the bounty grants, were 
taken by their owners. As early as 1742 copper works were 
in operation in the colony, and in that year the Assembly, to 
encourage their proprietor, relieved all the laborers employed 
at his works from levy for seven years, and from the duty of 
working upon the public roads and bridges, and attending at 
musters.* The making of wine was attempted with indiffer- 
ent commercial success. Wheat and Indian corn were largely 
exported, but the great staple of Maryland trade was tobacco, 
which had grown to such importance that in 1736 one hundred 
and thirty ships were engaged and in 1747 fifty thousand hogs- 
heads were exported. The average exportation, however, was 
&bout thirty thousand hogsheads.f 

In each county, free schools were established, supported 
by general taxation. There were between forty and fifty par- 
ishes in the colony, and the clergy of the established church 
were well provided for by law ; a tax of thirty pounds of to- 
bacco per head was levied on all titheables of the parish for 
their support : the proceeds of which, in not a few parishes, 

* Bacon. 
t Burnaby. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. . 93 

amounted at that day to three hundred pounds sterling, or 
about fifteen hundred dollars per annum. They were pre- 
sented to their livings by the governor, and were under the 
jurisdiction of the Episcopal bishop of London,t who gov- 
erned them through a commissary, appointed by himself and 
resident in the province. This system was first introduced in 
1692, and Thomas Bray, the commissary, then inspected and 
arranged the church affairs of the colony. At that period, 
the parishes were only thirty in number, and but sixteen of 
these were supplied with clergymen. Dr. Bray procured the 
erection of several additional chapels, and supplied the people 
of the different parishes with books of Common Prayer and 
practical devotion. | 

During this period the currency was in great disorder. 
The sudden depression of the prices of tobacco frequently 
sapped the specie of the colony to pay for the manufactures, 
which were imported in large quantities ; and even the bounty 
offered by the government for the introduction of gold and 
silver failed to remedy the evil. An issue of paper money, 
or government bills of credit, was resorted to ; but this became 
depreciated at one period to half its nominal value. Yet this 
financial policy was persisted in, in spite of the experience of 
its efficiency, and by a single law in 1733, an issue of ninety 
thousand pounds was authorized. A portion of this large sum 
was ordered to be expended in the erection of a governor's 
house and of county jails ; the rest was thrown into circulation 
by loans and otherwise. To redeem these bills a tax of one 
shilling and three pence was laid upon every hogshead of 
tobacco exported ; the proceeds of this impost, together with 
the interest received by the trustees on the loans, were placed 
in the hands of trustees in England to be invested in stock of 
the Bank of England. They were made redeemable in thirty- 
one years. It was an experiment to supply by means of a 
government bank paper the drain of specie from the province. 
The bills were made legal tender in the payment of all debts 



tibid. 

X Holmes, vol. i, p. 443. 



94 - HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and fees, "clergy's dues and tobacco for building an'd repair- 
ing churches excepted."* To remedy the embari-assments to 
the internal trade from the fluctuation of the value of bills of 
credit, in 1732 the legislature made tobacco a legal tender at 
one penny per pound, and Indian corn at twenty pence per 
bushelf — a striking evidence of the distress, to which the de- 
ranged condition of the currency had reduced the province; 
In addition to the difficulties which this condition of internal 
affairs entailed upon them, the government of the colony was 
deeply occupied throughout all this period with boundary dis- 
putes. 

In the charter of no colony were the boundaries more 
distinctly laid down than in that of Maryland, and yet no col- 
ony has been subjected to greater difficulties about limits or 
been robbed of larger or more valuable territory. Its extent 
was marked out in the charter by five lines, — ^beginning at a 
point on the Chesapeake, called Watkins' Point, near the 
river Wighco and running east to the ocean, — then, by the 
Delaware Bay, to that portion of the bay under the 40th de- 
gree, — then, by that degree, due west, until it reached the 
meridian of the first fountain of the Potomac, — then, by that 
meridian, to the first fountain, and lastly by the southern 
shore of that river to the bay, and across to Watkins' Point. 
The first controversy was natural enough. It arose with Vir- 
ginia, as to the actual position of Watkins' Point. This col- 
ony had, from the first, denied the validity of the charter of 
Maryland and claimed the whole territory included in it as her 
own. But she abandoned her pretensions by the treaty of 
1658. She, however, continued to encroach upon the limits 
of that charter, by her location of them. She had commenced 
settlements upon the tongue of land now forming Accomac 
and Northampton counties. To secure the footing of Mary- 
land, Governor Calvert, in 1661, issued a commission to Ed- 
mond Scarborough, John Elzey, and Randall Revel, to make^ 
settlements and grant lands on the Eastern shore in the name 



* Bacon, 1733, ch. 6. 
t Holmes, vol. i, p. 553. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 95 

of the province. The terms offered were favorable, and, with- 
in a year, the number of titheables at Manokin and Annames- 
sex, reached fifty. They succeeded in forming a treaty of 
friendship with the emperor of the Nanticokes. The Virginians 
however, soon became restless and Scarborough, who was the 
surveyor general of that colony, demanded that the new set- 
tlers should submit to their authority. Meeting with opposi- 
tion from Elzey, he caused him to be arrested in Accomac. 
Having extracted an equivocal promise of obedience from his 
prisoner he released him ; and, entering the settlements in a 
hostile manner, succeeded in compelling a partial submission. 
Elzey immediately placed the affair before the Governor Cal- 
vert and demanded aid to enable him to repel the outrage ; but 
that peaceful officer preferred representing the transaction to 
Governor Berkeley of Virginia, who promptly disavowed the 
whole proceeding. The negotiations which followed, termi- 
nated in the appointment of a commissioner by each govern- 
ment to ascertain the true position of Watkins' Point, and to 
mark the boundary between the possessions of the two colonies 
on the eastern shore. Philip Calvert was named on the part 
of Maryland, and Edmond Scarborough on the part of Vir- 
ginia. They finally adjusted the dispute on the 25th of June, 
1668, and the line was distinctly indicated, and exists as the 
present boundary of the two States.* 

The next dispute in order of settlement, was that by 
which the province of Delaware was lost to Maryland. The 
English having made the first discoveries on this portion of 
the North American continent, claimed the whole territory. 
In despite of the right which they had thus obtained by the 
laws of civilized nations, the Dutch began settlements at New 
York, in 1828-9, — and, together with the Swedes, at a later 
period, commenced colonies on the Delaware, principally on 
the eastern side. A controversy immediately sprung up be- 
tween these two nations, which resulted in the final subjection 
of the Swedes, in 1655. In the meanwhile, however, the 
charter of Maryland was granted, and the settlement at St. 



* McMahon. 



96 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Marys made : and, if there were any virtue in grants at all, 
Lord Baltimore was clearly entitled to the possession of Dela- 
ware, which the Swedes and Dutch had occupied in disregard 
of the rights of England. In 1642, a small colony of Mary- 
landers attempted to make good these rights, by settling on 
the Schuylkill, but were compelled to abandon the country by 
their opponents. Too much engaged at home to give due 
attention to this distant border, the colonial government took 
no steps to assert their claims until the reduction of the Swedes 
by the Dutch and the union of both into one colony. Then, 
Col. Nathaniel Utye was despatched, in 1659, to the Delaware 
settlements, to notify the inhabitants that they were seated in 
his lordship's territory, without permission and to deliver 
their authorities a written command from the governor of 
Maryland, to depart from the limits of the province. He was 
at the same ordered to inform the settlers that favorable 
terms would be granted to them, upon submission to the lord 
Proprietary. 

The demand was not only refused but the governor of 
New York, Peter Stuyvesant, at the close of the year de- 
spatched two commissioners to Maryland, with instructions to 
insist upon the rights of the Dutch to the settlements upon the 
Delaware. Arguments on both sides were used in vain, and 
the envoys having received and rejected a new demand for 
submission, closed the negotiation and returned home without 
having effected any thing. Entertaining doubt as to whether 
the Dutch were really trenching on their limits, and having no 
hope of assistance from the other colonies, in case of open 
hostilities, the Maryland government deferred further action 
until the advice of the lord Proprietary should be obtained, 
and it should be definitely ascertained whether the settlements 
at Newcastle were within the 40th degree. An agent was 
despatched to Holland to represent the case to the States Gen- 
eral, which directed that the settlers should be withdrawn' 
from about Cape Henlopen, but refused to abandon the more 
northern posts. The Dutch, however, were about to be sup- 
planted by more dangerous adversaries. They had commenced 



i 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 97 

to infringe on the New England provinces, and it was deter- 
mined to reduce them to subjection to the British govern- 
ment. In 1664, Charles II granted to his brother, James, 
Duke of York, all the territory lying between Connecticut 
and the eastern shore of the Delaware ; and an expedition was 
fitted out to enforce the grant. In September, New York sur- 
rendered to Governor Nichols, while the settlements on the 
Delaware submitted to Sir Robert Carr, and the inhabitants of 
both were admitted to the rights of English colonists. New 
Jersey was granted, by the Duke of York, to the lords Berke- 
ley and Carteret. 

William Penn soon after became interested in this prov- 
ince, and, in the course of his connection with it, learning the 
richness of the country west of the Delaware, determined to 
make application to the king for a grant. The petition was 
laid before the Duke of York's secretary and the agents of 
Lord Baltimore ; at their request, the grant was so made as 
not to infringe upon Maryland. The lines were marked out by 
lord Chief Justice North. That bordering Maryland, was "a 
circle nine miles around Newcastle to the beginning of the 
40th degree of latitude," and then, by the 40th degree, west- 
ward. To ascertain this degree, Markham, the agent of Penn, 
went to the province, and was met by Lord Baltimore at Up- 
land, now called Chester, where, upon actual observation, it 
was discovered that the 40th degree, instead of being in the 
vicinity of Newcastle, extended near to the Schuylkill, making 
the boundary described impossible. The conference was there- 
fore fruitless, and Penn set about obtaining from the Duke of 
York a grant of the Delaware settlements which his agents, 
in conquering the possessions of the Dutch, had seized upon 
and continued to hold in spite of the claims of Lord Baltimore. 
At length, the duke, in 1682, conveyed to him the town of 
Newcastle and the territory twelve miles around it, and ex- 
tending even to Cape Henlopen — an act equally dishonest and 
disgraceful to both — the one giving that which he knew was 
the property of another,— the other accepting a gift from him 
who, he knew, could not rightfully bestow it. 



98 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Penn, having thus strengthened his position, obtained an 
interview with Lord Baltimore in Maryland some time in De- 
cember, 1682, and presented a letter from the king directing 
the Lord Proprietary to fix his northern boundary one hun- 
dred and twenty miles from his southern limit. Lord Balti- 
more declined obedience, relying upon his charter which se- 
cured to him the territory to the 40th degree. Thus this 
second conference ended without results, as did also a third, 
held at Newcastle in May, 1683. As Lord Baltimore, now 
acting with energy, was endeavoring to extend his settlements 
into, and had made a formal demand for the delivery of the 
disputed teritory, Penn hastened to England to attack the 
charter of Maryland, on the ground that Delaware was set- 
tled, at the time when the charter was issued, and that instru- 
ment only included unsettled territory. His former patron, 
the Duke of York, had now ascended to the throne as James- 
H, and Penn succeeded so far as to obtain, in 1685, a decree 
from the commissioners of plantations that the territory be- 
tween the two bays should be divided by a straight line into 
two equal portions as far as Cape Henlopen, and that portion, 
now constituting the Delaware, be given up to Penn. Fear- 
ing the destruction of his patent, the Lord Proprietary was 
compelled to submit, and, although the king was soon de- 
throned, this decision formed the groundwork of the subse- 
quent final settlement. However, until 1732, the line continued 
to be disputed, and many outrages were committed by both 
parties in endeavoring to sustain their pretensions. In that 
year an agreement was entered into by the Proprietary to 
adopt the border fixed by the decree of 1685 on the east, and 
and on the north a line drawn due west, fifteen miles south 
of Philadelphia. 

When Lord Baltimore perceived the full extent of his 
agreement, he endeavored to set it aside ; however, in 1750, 
a decree in chancery, for its performance, was obtained against 
him by the Penns. Upon his death, his son, Frederick, Lord 
Baltimore continued to resist its execution, and proceedings 
were commenced against him by Thomas and Richard Penn, 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 99 

the surviving Proprietaries. Finding by representations from 
Maryland, that the condition of the border was frightful and 
lawless, he at length, on the 4th of July, 1760, agreed to an 
amicable arrangement. The lines already indicated were adopt- 
ed and commissioners appointed to mark them out.* The com- 
missioners — in the execution of their duty, on the northern 
line, or " Mason and Dixon's," as it is called, after the scientific 
gentlemen who laid it out — set up at the end of every mile 
a stone with the letter P. and the arms of the Penns engraved 
on the north, and "M" and the escutcheon of Lord Baltimore 
on the south side. Some of these stones are still to be found 
upon the line. They were, however, prevented by fears of 
hostile Indians from proceeding further than Sideling Hill — 
a distance of one hundred and thirty miles from the place of 
beginning. Similar land marks were placed on the Delaware 
boundary and thus, after a struggle of more than a century, 
a large and fertile territory was forever lost to Maryland. 

The charter of Maryland defined the western boundary 
by the meridian of the first fountain of the Potomac, and the 
question arose whether the north or south branch of the Poto- 
mac was the main head of that river. The decision involved 
a large territory, as the south branch extended far to the south 
and west of the north branch, and the meridian of its first 
springs would necessarily throw the western boundary farther 
back than that of the north branch, and include the fine country 
between the two streams. During his exile, the unhappy 
Charles II granted to several of his followers that portion of 
Virginia lying between and bounded by the heads of the 
Potomac and Rappahannock. After the restoration the grant 
was re-issued to Lord Culpeper, who, by assignments from the 
other lords, had become sole proprietor; and the title de- 
scended from him to his daughter, the wife of Lord Fairfax. 
This grant in terms did not interfere with that of Maryland. 
But the question then arose, which was the true head of the 
Potomac, the north or south branch. It is very clear that the 
south branch is the principal stream, being at least sixty miles 



* McMahon, 44-5. 



loo HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

longer than the north. Lord Fairfax began to make grants, 
and, in 1748, formally opened a land office in " the Neck," 
as his territory was called. In that year he entered into an 
agreement with the authorities of Virginia by which they 
adopted the northern branch of the Potomac as the common 
boundary without regard to the claims of Lord Baltimore, 
who, in consequence, in 1753. directed Gov. Sharpe, to investi- 
gate the matter and maintain his rights. Accordingly, the 
governor, having ascertained by the testimony of Col. Thos. 
Cresap that the south branch was the true head, wrote to Lord 
Fairfax, protesting against any such arrangement, and claim- 
ing the boundary on the south branch. In 1771, Cresap, under 
the direction of the Proprietary, surveyed both branches ; and, 
in 1774, the Maryland commissioners for the Proprietary be- 
gan to grant lands in the disputed territory on the west. The 
revolution only changed the parties to the controversy. Upon 
the adoption of its constitution in 1776, Virginia expressly 
recognized all the rights of Maryland to the territory contained 
within the charter ; yet when commissioners were subsequently 
appointed to mark off the disputed territory, it restricted its 
agents to the boundary assumed by Lord Fairfax. The repre- 
sentatives of Maryland refused to treat with persons having no 
power to discuss and adjust the subject of dispute. 



CHAPTER VI. 

/ 

THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. 

In 1751, Frederick, last of the Lords Baltimore, while yet 
a minor became by the death of his father. Proprietary of 
Maryland. The French war had just been brought to a close ; 
it was one, however, in which Maryland had borne little part. 
The province was not immediately concerned in its dangers, 
and contented itself with furnishing occasional supplies of men 
and money to assist the northern colonies. But a new contest 
was approaching in which it was deeply interested, and which 
poured the horrors of Indian invasion across its border. It 
was the last war between the English and French for dominion 
in the new world, and terminated in the overthrow of the latter, 
in the conquest of their possessions, and eventually led to the 
humiliation of the former in the independence of the United 
States. 

The governor of Canada, having conceived the bold idea 
of connecting that colony with the French possessions in Louis- 
iana, immediately began to construct a chain of forts along 
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, passing through a territory 
to which the English laid claim. As early as 1749, a grant of 
lands west of the Alleghanies had been made to an association 
called the Ohio Company, which, principally for the purposes 
of traffic with the natives, erected posts extending as far as 
the Ohio river. These movements led the French governor 
to the formation and execution of his design. Several of the 
company's trading posts were taken and pillaged, the traders 
made captives. Strong positions were selected, fortified and 
garrisoned, to maintain open communication from New Or- 
leans to Quebec, along the course of the Alleghany, Ohio, and 

lOI 



102 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Mississippi. \'irginia was principally interested in the contro- 
versy and its governor immediately despatched Colonel Wash- 
ington on an embassy to the French commandant to protest 
against his proceedings and to demand an evacuation of the 
territory. Marching through a hostile Indian country, Wash- 
ington performed his difficult and dangerous mission with 
that courage, zeal and perseverance. The demands of Virginia 
were rejected and nothing was left but recourse to hostilities. 
In the war which ensued, Maryland became involved simply 
in self-defence and for the assistance of sister colonies, but 
A'irginia and Pennsylvania were contending for the acquisition 
of a large and fertile territory. At the beginning of the war, 
therefore, the legislature of Maryland stood aloof, in spite 
of the commands of the crown, the remonstrances of the gov- 
ernor and the entreaties of Virginia ; declaring to each their 
determination to resist any and every foreign invasion and 
to contribute their assistance to the neighboring colonies, when 
they conceived their necessity required it. 

They, however, consented to send Charles Carroll and Ben- 
jamin Tasker, as commissioners, to the general convention 
which the English government had directed to assemble at 
Albany, and also appropriatcfl the sum of five hundred pounds 
to purchase presents, with which to secure the good will of the 
Indians. When the convention met. they entered into designs, 
very different from those entertained by Maryland and beyond 
the power granted to its delegates. They resolved that a gen- 
eral union among the colonies was necessary for their preserva- 
tion, and a plan of confederacy, submitted by Dr. Franklin, 
was adopted. Ever jealous of their colonial independence, 
proud of their charter, and fearful of the invasion of their 
rights of internal sovereignty, the people of Maryland had 
constantly resisted every attempt to effect a union of the colo- 
nies under one government. Nor did they now yield. The 
plan was submitted to the General Assembly and was unani- 
mously disapproved of by the lower house as " tending to the 
destruction of the rights and liberties of His Majesty's sub- 
jects in the province." The time had arrived, however, when 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 103 

they could no longer avoid taking part in the war. Colonel 
Washington's forces had been captured at Great Meadows by 
the French and Indians, who, from Fort Duquesne — occupying 
the present site of Pittsburg — poured their savage and plunder- 
ing bands upon the unprotected frontiers of Pennsylvania, 
^Maryland and Virginia. It became necessary, therefore, to 
reduce this French stronghold. The General Assembly con- 
vened at Annapolis, on the 17th of July, 1754, and voted a 
supply of six thousand pounds, to be applied to the aid of 
Virginia and for the needs of the friendly Southern Indians, 
whose wives and children had to be supported during the 
expedition. 

Although legislative action was thus long delayed, the 
people of the province had taken part in the war from its 
commencement. They organized companies of rangers and 
frontier guards for the protection of the border settlements. 
A fort had been erected at Cumberland — far beyond the set- 
tlements — which served as the resting place in the expeditions 
undertaken against the French on the Ohio. In some of these, 
the people of Maryland bore a part. In September, 1753, two 
companies, under Captain Dagworthy, Lieutenants Bacon and 
Forty had marched from Annapolis to the western frontier. 
In the ensuing year the government of Virginia contemplated an 
expedition against Fort Duquesne, or the erection of a strong- 
hold to restrain its garrison, and its force having been joined 
by several companies from Maryland and North Carolina, in 
August was ordered to commence its march. But when it was 
found that the number of troops did not exceed half that of 
the enemy and that no sufficient provision had been made by 
the legislature for their supply, the enterprize was abandoned. 
It was, however, re-undertaken with vigor in the .ensuing cam- 
paign after extensive preparations had been made to insure 
its success. 

The command of all the forces engaged against the French 
on the Ohio, by a royal commission was conferred upon Gov. 
Sharpe of Maryland, the actual command in the field devolv- 
ing upon Colonel Fitzhugh. Colonel Washington, displeased 



I04 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

at the treatment accorded him by Governor Dinwiddie, re- 
signed his commission and retired from the service. Justly 
appreciating his talents and qualifications for the peculiar duty 
before him. Governor Sharpe was desirous of retaining them 
for the common cause, and requested Colonel Fitzhugh to 
address a letter to Washington urging him to join them, offer- 
ing him the rank of captain. But Washington refused, declar- 
ing that he could not consent to accept the commission of 
captain when he had already held that of colonel.* 

On the 24th of December the General Assembly of Mary- 
land was again convened and passed a law for the levying 
of troops for the ensuing campaign and, as an inducement to 
men to enlist, provided that if any citizen of the province 
should be so maimed in the service as to be incapable of main- 
taining himself, he should be supported at the public expense. 
In the ensuing session. February, 1755, they regulated the 
rates of transportation of military material and the mode of 
quartering soldiers in the province and prohibited by severe 
penalties any inhabitant from supplying the French or their 
Indian allies with stores, ammunition or provisions. All these 
measures were preparatory to that expedition which ended so 
disastrously for the whole country. 

Early in the year General Braddock, at the head of a strong 
body of troops, embarked at Cork for the colonies, and, on his 
arrival at Alexandria with his fleet of transports,! a council 
of the colonial governors was summoned to meet him at Anna- 
polis. On April 3 General Braddock, Governor Dinwiddie, 
and Commodore Keppel arrived at Annapolis and were joined 
on the nth and 12th by Governors Shirley of Massachusetts, 
De Launcey of New York, and Morris of Pennsylvania. But 
the place of meeting having been changed, these gentlemen in 
company with Governor Sharpe of Maryland, proceeded to 
the general's headquarters at Alexandria. Three expeditions 
were determined on : the first against Fort Duquesne, con- 
ducted by Braddock, reinforced by the Maryland and Virginia 

* Sparks, vol. 2, p. 64-5. 
t Green's Gazette. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 105 

levies ; the second, against Niagara and Fort Frontignac, and 
the third, against Crown Point. The council having completed 
its plans, and the different governors proceeded to their re- 
spective stations. 

On the 17th Governor Sharpe returned to Annapolis and 
in a few days after went to Frederick, where a portion of the 
army was already quartered in order to expedite the necessary 
preparations for transporting the supplies. He was soon met 
by General Braddock, who began his march to that place from 
Alexandria with Dunbar's regiment immediately after the 
conclusion of the council, intending to remain until his stores 
should be forwarded to Fort Cumberland, his ultimate point 
of rendezvous. During his stay at Frederick, he was joined 
by Colonel Washington, whom he had invited to serve as his 
aid-de-camp through the campaign, and to whose skill and 
courage the army was afterwards essentially indebted.* After 
the departure of the general and his forces from Frederick 
to Winchester, Va., on the 7th of May, the forces of Maryland, 
in large numbers, marched from the different counties to de- 
fend the frontiers and to replace the garrisons of the outposts ; 
while with commendable public spirit, money, clothing, and 
provisions for the volunteers were advanced by gentlemen of 
the province.f 

The impressment of wagons, horses, and teamsters was 
carried on with great activity, especially in Frederick. To 
such an extent, indeed, had this been carried that the con- 
tractors for erecting a new courthouse in that town found it 
impossible to obtain horses to transport the materials to the 
site of the building.^ Benjamin Franklin, then postmaster- 
general for the colonies, had met Braddock at Frederick to 
concert a plan for forwarding despatches, and, learning the ' 
scarcity of wagons, undertook to furnish them from Pennsyl- 
vania. He succeeded in hiring one hundred and fifty in York 
and Lancaster counties by giving his own bond to the owners 



* Sparks. 

t Recital in rejected Bill of 1762, Sec. 44. 

t Frederick county records. 



io6 HISTORY OF MARVLAXO. 

for their indemnification, a responsibility which involved him 
in great difficulty after the defeat at the Monongahela.* Yet 
withal such was the scarcity of means of transportation that 
Braddock was unable to begin his march from Fort Cumber- 
land until the middle of June. A further delay was caused by 
the necessity of cutting a road for the troops through rough 
and mountainous country. Fearing that the French would 
collect a strong force at Fort Duquesne, the general selected 
a body of twelve hundred men, and, leaving the remainder of 
the army to advance with the heavy stores hurried forward to 
surprise the enemy. 

On the 8th of July he reached the Monongahela ; and, 
expecting to begin the investment of the fort on the following 
morning, arranged his forces for the attack. Three hundred 
British regulars, grenadiers and light infantry, under Lieuten- 
ant Colonel Gage, formed the van, followed at some distance 
by the artillery and the main body of the army which was 
divided into small columns. The provincial officers, accus- 
tomed to the wiles of an Indian enemy, repeatedly warned 
Braddock of the danger of an ambuscade, but their admoni- 
tions were derided. Twice the army crossed the river in its 
march. No sooner had it passed over the second time than it 
was enveloped in a heavy fire as the advance entered a narrow 
defile. The regulars were instantly thrown into confusion. 
The volleys of an unseen foe mowed down their ranks, and 
their own random fire added to the slaughter. At length panic 
seized them and they broke and fled in wild disorder. In vain 
did their officers attempt to rally them. In vain did they 
charge upon the foe when deserted by their men. Wherever 
an epaulette appeared it became the mark of the unerring In- 
dian. Colonel Washington, alone unwounded of all the aids- 
de-camp, brought up the provincials, who, adopting the Indian 
tactics, gallantly covered the retreat of the frantic British reg- 
ulars. The persistent Braddock maintained the action until 
he received a mortal wound. The rout then became generaLf" 



* Sparks. 

t Marshall ; Sparks ; Bancroft's Life of Washington, pp. 19-22. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 107 

Sixty-four out of eighty-five officers, and about one-half the 
rank and file were killed or wounded. The victorious force 
of the enemy consisted only of thirty Frenchmen and three or 
four hundred Indians — of whom seven Indians and four 
Frenchmen were killed — while that of the defeated army was 
twelve hundred regulars and provincials. 

The defeat must be attributed to the rashness of General 
Braddock, who, however, displayed great coolness and bravery 
upon the field and had five horses killed under him before he 
received his fatal wound. Colonel Washington had two horses 
shot under him, and his uniform was riddled with balls. He 
was the only mounted officer who escaped unhurt. Providence 
had reserved him for greater things. The rout did not cease 
until the fugitives had reached the camp of the main body, 
forty miles from the scene of action. There Braddock breathed 
his last. Colonel Dunbar became infected with the panic, de- 
stroyed his baggage and stores, and placing the wounded in the 
wagons which had been used in their transportation, retreated 
hastily to Fort Cumberland. Utterly desponding, he soon after 
marched to Philadelphia, where, although it was yet the month 
of August, he went into winter quarters, abandoning the de- 
fenceless frontiers to the fury of the savage. 

A period of terror and desolation ensued. The settlements 
were attacked and broken up and the borders of Pennsylvania, 
Maryland and Virginia became the extended field of petty 
raids, marked by murder and devastation. Some of the 
smaller posts were captured and their garrisons massacred and 
Frederick, Winchester, and Carlisle became the frontiers of 
the coloniesf Fort Cumberland, under Colonel Dagworthy, 
still held out, but that isolated fortress could afford no pro- 
tection against the roving bands of savages who passed around 
it to seek their prey in the settlements beyond. The feeling 
of panic left by the flying British troops spread even to the bay 
shore. Manv of the inhabitants from the interior fled to Bal- 



* McMahon. 
t Marshall. 



io8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

timore, and there preparations were made by the citizens of 
that town to embark their women and children on board the 
vessels in the harbor preparatory to a flight to Virginia. If 
the news of the defeat excited terror in some, it also nerved 
others to preparation for the coming danger. The people in 
the west gathered at Colonel Cresap's and strengthened his 
blockhouse for defence. Others sought protection at Fort 
Cumberland. Even before the defeat, as if in anticipation of 
it, a party of Indians had made their way into the settlements 
and committed many ravages. On the 3d of July, they at- 
tacked the house of Mr. Williams, in Frederick county, and 
massacred twelve members of his household.* After the de- 
feat, a party of inhabitants flying to Fort Cumberland were 
waylaid and fifteen killed. Three only escaped, one of whom, 
a boy, had been scalj^cd and left for dead, but revived and suc- 
ceeded in making his way to that fort. 

As soon as the intelligence of Braddock's disastrous defeat 
reached Annapolis Governor Sharpe set out for Frederick, and 
on the 17th of July marched to the west at the head of a body 
of troops which he had hastily assembled. Private subscrip- 
tions were opened to defray the expenses. Annapolis and the 
surrounding country alone raised one thousand pounds. The 
militia were called into service, and in October, were relieved 
by a force of volunteers, raised to meet the emergency. But 
the country people still continued to come in as new inroads 
were constantlv taking place and manv families had been cut 
oflf. 

Such was the efifect of the panic on the militia that when 
Major Prather endeavored to assemble those of the frontier 
for the purpose of pursuing one of the hostile bands, he found 
it impossible to do so. Each man dreaded to leave his own 
house unprotected, lest in his absence, his family should fall 
a prey to the enemy. But, from the lower part of Frederick 
county, which was secure from depredations, volunteers under 
Colonel Ridgely and Captain Alexander Beall, with some com- 
panies from Prince George's county and several from Fredrick- 



* Green's Gazette. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 109 

town itself, hastened to the scene of desolation. They arrived 
too late to punish the savages and could only remain to protect 
the survivors from further depredations. In this disastrous 
year more than twenty plantations were laid waste and their 
occupants massacred or carried into a dreadful captivity. So 
great had grown the fear of the Indians that the most im- 
probable rumors found credence. In November it was reported 
that a body of French and Indians were within thirty miles of 
Baltimore, and two thousand men were quickly assembled 
to oppose their advance.* 

The people of Annapolis, far removed as they were from 
the frontier, caught the infection of fear and began to fortify 
their town. Serious apprehensions for a time were entertained 
that a body of the savages might penetrate the intermediate 
country, surprise the town and massacre the inhabitants. How- 
ever the excitement was allayed by the return of several volun- 
teers from the west who reported affairs in a better condition.! 
In the midst of this panic the effectiveness of the troops 
on the frontier was weakened by disputes and dissensions 
between the leaders. Captain Dagworthy, who now com- 
manded the Maryland levies, had been an officer in the Canada 
expedition during the last war, and held the king's commission. 
Upon entering the Maryland service he still laid claim to pre- 
cedence of rank under his old commission, which, emanating 
from the king, was considered to confer a superiority over 
all colonial commissions. Dagworthy asserted his right of 
precedence over the other colonial officers at Cumberland. He 
was supported by Governor Sharpe, who claimed the post as 
a Maryland fort, and subject to his jurisdiction, and properly 
under the command of a Maryland officer; while Dinwiddie 
of Virginia contended that it was the king's fort and that Dag- 
worthy could not outrank the field officers of the Virginia 
regiment. The affair was laid before Braddock, who decided 
in favor of Dagworthy. After the death of that general the 
dispute was revived and Lieutenant Colonel Stephen of the 

* Green's Gazette. 

t Annals of Annapolis. 



no HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Virginia forces, was ordered by his government to see that 
none of the provisions sent thither by Virginia should be dis- 
tributed to the Maryland or Carolina companies. But Dag- 
worthy refused to permit any interference in his command, 
claiming to outrank Colonel Washington himself. That officer, 
however, having obtained leave of absence, laid the matter 
in person before General Shirley, the commander-in-chief, 
then at Boston, and in March, 1756, procured an order settling 
definitely the relative rank of the different claimants.* Dag- 
worthy was reduced to the position of provincial captain, as 
holding a commission from the governor of Maryland, thus 
subjecting him to all colonial field officers, and the command 
of Fort Cumberland was conferred upon Washington himself. 
Thus ended this vexatious dispute, which, by dividing the 
forces at the fort had rendered them of little service to the 
colonies. 

The legislature assembled in February and took into con- 
sideration the state of the province. The act prohibiting trade 
with the enemy was revived. On the 22d of March, 1756, 
a bill was passed providing for raising a sum of forty thousand 
pounds, of which eleven thousand were to be applied to the 
erection of a fort and several blockhouses in the western 
frontier, and for levying, arming, paying and maintaining a 
body of troops, not exceeding two hundred men, to garrison 
these posts. Three thousand pounds were placed in the hands 
of two commissioners, Colonel Benjamin Tasker and Charles 
Carroll, to engage the services of the southern Indians, one 
thousand pounds were directed to be distributed in bounties 
of ten pounds for each scalp of an hostile Indian, or for each 
prisoner brought in by any inhabitant of the province and 
twenty-five thousand was reserved for the joint expedition 
in contemplation against Fort Duquesne. Messrs. William 
Murdock, James Dick and Daniel Wolstenholme, were' ap- 
pointed agents to pay out these several sums, with a commis- 
sion of two and one-half per cent, on all disbursements. Thir- 



* Spark's Life and Writings of Washington, vol. 2, where the letters 
relating to this dispute are collected. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. iii 

ty-four thousand pounds of this sum were raised by bills of 
credit, a system already in full operation in the colony, but the 
legislature taught by recent difficulties, wisely provided at once 
a sufficient sinking fund, by imposing new duties and laying 
additional internal taxes. Some of the features of the bill 
mark the spirit of the time — a double tax was laid upon the 
lands of Catholics ; and, as if to make atonement for the op- 
pression of one class, they asserted the liability of all. to their 
own legislative supremacy, and subjected even the manors 
and lands of the Lord Proprietary to the common burdens. 
Another, in the list of twenty-two subjects of taxation on 
which the Assembly thought proper to levy, is singular enough 
to justify notice: "On all bachelors, of twenty-five years of 
age and upwards, worth one hundred pounds and less than 
three hundred, a duty of five shillings per annum was laid; 
and, if worth over three hundred pounds — twenty shillings 
per annum ;" and, to heighten its effect, this subject of taxa- 
tion was significantly placed in the list of luxuries, and be- 
tween the duties on " wines and liquors," and " the billiard 
table."* 

Fort Cumberland, lying nearly sixty miles beyond the 
frontier, was found to afford no protection from the savages, 
so that the people had been compelled to erect stockades and 
blockhouses on the verge of the settlements, as places of im- 
mediate resort and security in sudden danger. Under the act 
which had just been passed Governor Sharpe, to remedy this 
defect, selected a site for a new fort near the present town of 
Hancock, to be called Fort Frederick. He purchased one 
hundred and fifty acres of land, and began at once under his 
personal inspection the erection of a large and durable fortress 
of stone, capable of containing a garrison of three hundred 
men. By the middle of August the fortifications were far 
enough advanced to afford accommodation to the troops, and 
were immediately garrisoned by a force of two hundred men 
under the command of Colonel Dagworthy. In the meantime 



* Bacon. From April, 1762, to November, 1763, this tax produced 
£904 IS. 2d. 



112 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the Indians had been active. Secretly by night, small parties 
penetrated into the country, struck a fatal blow, and then 
retired, generally before successful pursuit could be made. 
Their audacity increased with their success, and a party made 
way even to the neighborhood of Emmitsburg, somewhat more 
than sixteen miles from Frederick, assailed the settlement, and, 
after shooting a man named Alexander McKeasy in his own 
door, escaped without loss. But they were not always so for- 
tunate ; the desultory war had raised up a number of partizan 
Indian fighters, the most successful and unsparing of whom 
was Col. Thomas Cresap, a man of undaunted courage. On 
the 20th of May, 1756, at the head of one hundred men — his 
"red caps" — he overtook a party of Indians, and completely 
routed them, killing a number. On the 30th of June he came 
suddenly upon another roaming band whom he also defeated.* 
Yet such was the effect produced upon the out settlers by these 
destructive inroads, which it was equally impossible to foresee 
or to prevent, that they continued to desert their cabins and 
clearings and poured in towards the lower country. "The 
whole settlement of Conococheague in Maryland is fled," writes 
Colonel Washington, in August, 1756, "and there now remains 
only two families from thence to Fredericktown. That the 
Maryland settlements are all abandoned is certainly a fact, 
as I have had the accounts transmitted to me by several hands 
and confirmed yesterday (28th) by Henry Brinker, who leftrs 
Monocacy the day before, and who also affirms that three 
hundred and fifty wagons had passed that place to avoid the 
enemy, within the space of three days."t 

The neighboring colonies having failed to cooperate with 
Maryland in the proposed expedition and the season having 
passed for any such attempt, the legislature was again con- 
vened in September and devoted the sum of twenty-five thou- 
sand pounds, laid aside for the purpose, to other and more 
pressing objects of service. Five thousand pounds were ap- 
propriated to raising and maintaining three hundred men for 

* Green's Gazette. 

t Sparks, vol. 2, p. 183. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 113 

the royal American regiment and to furnish a supply of wheat 
for Lord Loudon's troops at New York, three thousand pounds 
for bounties for scalps or prisoners taken by persons not in 
the pay of the province, and three thousand five hundred 
pounds for forming a company of one hundred men, to be 
incorporated with the battalion already under the command 
of Colonel Dagworthy, at Fort Frederick. One-third of this 
force was required to be constantly on duty on the frontiers 
as rangers for the protection of the inhabitants and to increase 
their activity, in addition to their pay, each soldier who, while 
on such duty took a scalp or a prisoner, was allowed a bounty 
of thirty pounds. Additional appropriations were made toward 
completing Fort Frederick, for purchasing arms and ammu- 
nition and erecting a magazine, and, to reimburse the gov- 
ernor the expense of maintaining the rangers, whom he had 
employed on the frontier, during the preceding spring.* 

Provision having thus been made for defense, the confi- 
dence of the people to the westward was somewhat restored, 
although the settlements were not fully reoccupied until the 
close of the war. Even in 1761, several years after the reduc- 
tion of Fort Duquesne, the people of the western portion of 
Frederick county, when desirous of building a bridge on the 
road from Conococheague to Pittsburg at a cost of only forty 
pounds, w^ere compelled to have recourse to the county court 
for assistance from the general assessment, assignment as their 
reason that the country was thinned of its inhabitants, that 
the settlers who had removed on- account of the war had not 
yet returned to their dwellings, and that the few who remained 
were unable to bear the charge ; while the work was absolutely 
required by the public service, being on the route by which 
supplies were carried to the royal troops at Fort Pitt.f Indeed, 
it was impossible to form a complete cordon of defence across 
the frontier ; for small parties of the enemy would easily make 
their wav into the settlements, strike a successful blow and 
retreat in safety before the rangers could come to the rescue. 



"* Bacon. 

tjud. Rec. L. L., p. 840 — Fred. Co. 



114 HISTORY OF MARYLAND 

The inhabitants at the breaking out of hostilities were 
to a great extent unpracticed in Indian warfare, and, there- 
fore, fell an easy prey to their vigilant and unsparing enemy. 
Elated by their bloody victory on the Monongahela, in which 
they had almost annihilated a force of three times their num- 
ber, composed of chosen troops under a British general, they 
boasted that at length they were about to drive the invaders 
from the graves of their forefathers and recover their ancient 
hunting grounds. From the Miami, the Ohio, and the borders 
of the lakes, their war parties concentrated at Fort Duquesne, 
to pour out upon the extended frontiers, sometimes in parties 
strong enough to take the smaller fortresses by storm, but 
generally numbering but two or three, striking unexpectedly 
into the settlements, burning the farm houses, killing or cap- 
turing the inhabitants thus taken by surprise, and hurrying 
away as rapidly with their booty.* But the borderers soon 
began to learn their mode of warfare and to prepare for it; 
and aided by the "rangers and garrisons of the forts, and pro- 
tected by their own rude blockhouses, made successful defence 
against their inroads. 

In the ensuing April the Assembly was convened at Bal- 
timore, and further provisions were made for the security of the 
frontiers. A portion of the first appropriation being still unex- 
pended, and the sum of three thousand pounds, intended to 
secure the services of the southern Indians yet unapplied, the 
whole, amounting to more than ten thousand pounds, was 
devoted to increasing the forces in the west to five hundred 
men. To promote the recruiting service, those who enlisted 
were exempted from levy and other charges for three years, 
and the maimed and disabled were promised an annual pension 
for their support.f Finding that every effort at a combined 
expedition had failed the year before, the government now 
sought only to defend its own frontier ; and, during the season, 
succeeded in securing the services of a band of Cherokee 
Indians to aid in that obiect. 



* Narrative of Col. James Smith, 
t Bacon. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 115 

The enemy were not long in recommencing their assaults. 
In June it was reported that a large body of French and In- 
dians, with heavy cannon, were marching against Fort Cum- 
berland to besiege it. Governor Sharpe instantly set out for 
Frederick, accompanied by a number of volunteers, to gather 
troops and relieve the menaced post. There, however, a sub- 
sequent express informed him that it was only a small party 
of about three hundred men, without artillery, and, fully con- 
fident in the ability of the troops already on the frontier, aided 
by the Cherokees, to prevent their ravages, he returned to 
Annapolis after a week's absence. The enemy, however, had. 
no design upon the fort ; they separated into small parties, 
as was their wont, and broke into the settlements — principally 
of Virginia. A few attempted to ravage Maryland, but were 
overtaken and several of them killed by the friendly Cherokees, 
who rendered important services to the colony. In addition 
to the troops already on the frontier, Captains Butler, Mid- 
dagh, and Luckett's companies of militia were ordered to re- 
lieve the garrison of Fort Frederick then under the command 
of Captain Beale. During their tour of duty, they acted with 
spirit, and prevented the ravages of three different parties of 
the enemy. Besides furnishing this garrison for Fort Fred- 
erick, the people of Frederick county raised two hundred men, 
who, in August, marched under Governor Sharpe to strengthen 
that fortress and to garrison Fort Cumberland, where in the 
ensuing month they were joined by a company of volunteers 
from Cecil county, under Captain Jesse Hollingsworth.* 

Fort Cumberland, so long the subject of dispute between 
the governors of Maryland and Virginia, and maintained by 
the latter against the strong wishes of Colonel Washington, 
was now finally given up to Maryland, by the order of Lord 
Loudon, and was destined henceforth to be garrisoned by 
Maryland troops. It soon became a source of discord in an- 
other quarter.* In October, Governor Sharpe applied to the 
legislature for means to support the garrison which he had 

* Green's Gazette. 

* Sparks. 



ii6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

placed there. The Assembly, averse to maintaining a force 
too far beyond the frontiers to protect the inhabitants, replied 
with warmth that they had been stationed there contrary to 
the intention of the act by which they had been raised and if 
evil consequences arose from want of supplies the blame must 
rest upon the heads of those who had taken the responsibility 
of placing them there without warrant of law. As the step 
had been taken by order of Lord Loudon, they denied his 
authority to control the forces raised and paid by the colony 
without their consent ; whereupon that nobleman wrote to 
Governor Sharpe, protesting against this doctrine as without 
precedent, and peculiar to Maryland alone. Governor Din- 
widdie likewise pronounced it "inconsistent and unmannerly, 
in the Maryland Assembly, to make any hesitation, or to dis- 
pute his lordship's power." But the Assembly had been too 
long accustomed to a sturdy maintenance of their rights to 
yield to the protests or abuse of British royal governors. 

But this limited and petty warfare of posts and defensive 
expeditions, while it exhausted the force of the colony could 
produce no permanent results. The neighboring provinces of 
Virginia and Pennsylvania, with far more extensive borders 
to protect, had suffered more severely than Maryland ; and the 
governments of the three colonies at length became fully con- 
vinced that the readiest and most effectual mode of protecting 
their frontiers was the expulsion of the enemy from his strong- 
hold. Early in 1758, another expedition against Fort Duquesne 
v/as determined on. 

Lord Loudon having returned to England at the close of 
the last campaign, the command of the British forces in the 
middle and southern colonies, was committed to General 
Forbes ; and it was hoped by the colonies that active and ener- 
getic measures would now be taken. Virginia, which was 
principally interested, had already one regiment in the field, 
and had directed the formation of another. The forces of 
Maryland, amounting to five hundred men under Colonel Dag- 
worthy, held its frontier from Fort Frederick, aided by their 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 117 

Indian allies. In the Assembly, which met at Annapolis in 
March, 1758, an effort was made to bring a still larger force 
Into the field. But Maryland was once more to a certain extent 
5eciire. The old controversies between the upper and lower 
liouses recommenced and the delegates once more asserted 
md sturdily adhered to the demands, which during the perils 
Df the three preceding years they had allowed to slumber. In 
A.pril the House framed a bill for the supplies required to raise 
3ne thousand men and among other property imposed taxes 
ipon the Proprietary's quit rents and estates, on the salaries 
md emoluments of public officers and the usual double tax 
.ipon the lands of Catholics and those who refused to take the 
;est oath of supremacy ;* and also claimed the sole right of 
originating and amending money bills. The upper house pro- 
:ested against these taxes as unjust and contended that the 
;laim of the lower house was arbitrary and unconstitutional. 
But the delegates were immovable. Rather than submit, the 
government abandoned all hopes of further supplies and Col- 
onel Dagworthy and his troops were ordered to join the expe- 
iition as the quota of Maryland. To supply garrisons for the 
"ortresses thus left vacant by the departure of Dagworthy, 
jovernor Sharpe called out the western militia and marched 
It their head to Fort Cumberland, of which post he took com- 
nand as soon as Colonel Washington with his regiment joined 
he main army at Raystown. During the continuance of the 
governor at the fort, the army suffered a serious loss of ammu- 
lition from the blowing up of the magazine. 

Although it was desirable that the campaign should open 
!arly in the season, the Virginia troops did not reach Fort 
Cumberland, their place of rendezvous, till July. They were 
hen occupied in cutting a road from that post to Raystown, 
vhere the advance of the army was stationed under Colonel 
Bouquet — General Forbes being detained by sickness at Car- 
isle. As if to increase these delays and render the expedition 
ibortive, the English officers, in spite of the remonstrances 
)f Colonel Washington, determined to make a new road to 



Bacon. 1716, ch. 5. 



ii8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Fort Duquesne, instead of taking the route of General Brad- 
dock. It was already late in the season, the enemy were daily 
strengthening their forces, and it was feared that winter would 
overtake the army in the mountains. The worst results were 
foreboded. 

In September an advanced body had reached Loyal Han- 
ning, about ten miles beyond Laurel Hill ; and, towards the 
close of the month. Major Grant was detached to reconnoitre, 
with a select corps of more than eight hundred men, consisting 
of three hundred and thirty Highlanders, one hundred and 
fourteen royal Americans, one hundred and seventy-six Vir- 
ginians, ninety-five Marylanders, one hundred and twelve 
Pennsylvanians and thirteen Carolinian troops.* In the night 
he took post upon a hill, about eighty rods from Fort Duquesne, 
unobserved by the French, and in the morning, by way of bra- 
vado, beat the reveille and sounded the bagpipes in several 
places. As soon as the English were discovered, the Indians 
sallied from the fort, and, having under' cover of the river 
banks, reached a height that overlooked Grant's position, sur- 
rounded him and commenced the attack.f The Highlanders, 
drawn up in close formation, were slaughtered almost unre- 
sistingly, by the deadly fire of the enemy, and at length gave 
way ; while the Maryland troops, to whom were joined the 
Carolinians, took cover in bushes and behind trees and keeping 
the enemy at bay, sustained the action. The Pennsylvanians 
broke at the first fire. The Virginians, under Major Lewis 
of Colonel Washington's regiment, had been detached two 
miles to the rear to guard the baggage ; as soon as the action 
began, they hastened up to the assistance of Grant, but were 
unable to maintain their ground. ij: The English were defeated 
with a loss of two hundred and seventy-three killed and forty- 
two wounded ; Majors Grant and Lewis, and many of their 
men were taken prisoners. The Marylanders behaved with 
great gallantry, and, although they suffered severely, succeeded 

* Green's Gazette. 
t Smith's Narrative. 
t Green's Gazette. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 119 

in covering the retreat of the remainder of the troops. Out of 
ninety-five men they lost twenty-three privates and one officer, 
Lieutenant Duncan McRae, killed and missing ; and seventeen 
wounded — nearly one-half their whole force. Captain Ware, 
Lieutenant Riley and Ensign Harrison, with fifty privates 
made good their retreat.ij: The loss of the enemy was trifling. 
This defeat, so similar to the disaster of Braddock, in- 
duced the Indians to believe that the remainder of Forbes' army 
would retreat, as the force under Colonel Dunbar had done 
on the like occasion. A large portion of them, accordingly 
left the fort and retuined to their hunting grounds, with their 
prisoners and plunder, in spite of the solicitations of the French 
to remain.§ This was a fortunate circumstance for the suc- 
cess of the expedition. Forbes' army was still toiling on its 
way, liable to be taken at disadvantage by a strong force, and 
did not reach the post at Loyal Hanning until the fifth of 
November, nearly a month after the battle. Here the recent 
defeat, and the lateness of the season, had nearly produced 
the results expected by the Indians. A council of war was 
held which determined that it was unadvisable to proceed 
farther during the present campaign. In the meanwhile, the 
enemy, who had carefully watched the march of the army, 
thinking it a favorable moment to make another fortunate 
blow and complete their victory, detached a body of troops 
with the Indians yet remaining at the fort, to the number of 
one thousand men, and attacked Colonel Bouquet with great 
spirit at Loyal Hanning, on the 12th of October. After four 
hours of hard fighting they were repulsed but during the whole 
ensuing night kept up an occasional fire upon the works. Be- 
fore day, however, they retreated, carrying with them their 
killed and wounded, thus concealing their loss in the action. 
The loss of the English was sixty-seven rank and file killed 
and wounded. In this affair the Maryland troops had one 
officer. Lieutenant Prather, and two privates killed ; Ensign 
Bell and six privates wounded and eleven missing. 

t Ibid. 

§ Smith's Narrative. 



120 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Still the savages hovered around the army. On the 12th 
of November, near Loyal Manning, Colonel Washington, with 
a scouting party, fell in with a detachment of the enemy and 
a skirmish ensued. A second party of Virginians coming to 
their assistance in the heavy mist were mistaken for a body 
of the foe and a fire opened upon them and returned before 
the unfortunate error was discovered. Capt. Evan Shelby, 
of Frederick county, who commanded a company of Maryland 
volunteers in this skirmish, killed with his own hand one of 
the leading chiefs of the enemy.''' After these disastrous 
actions, the hostile Indians abandoned their allies and left the 
fort, saying that it was an easy matter to deal with the regulars, 
but impossible to withstand the provincials. 

Reanimated by success and learning the desertion of the 
Indians from a prisoner taken by Captain Ware of the Mary- 
land troops, the English determined to prosecute their attempt. 
At length, taught by experience the inefficiency of regulars 
in such a service, they threw Colonel Washington in advance 
and succeeded on the 22d of November after a painful march 
in reaching Fort Duquesne which the French, hopeless of 
maintaining with their diminished garrison, after setting it on 
fire, had abandoned the night before. The works were imme- 
diately repaired, the place renamed Fort Pitt, and a garrison 
of two hundred men, drawn from the Pennsylvania, Maryland 
and Virginia troops, assigned for its defence.f 

The capture of this fortress, the centre from which so 
many predatory expeditions had gone forth, filled the colonies' 
with joy. Governor Sharpe by proclamation appointed a day 
for public thanksgiving and praise and the Assembly, to testify 
its gratitude to the brave men who had served in their forces, 
appropriated fifteen hundred pounds to be distributed as a 
gratuity among them. Lieutenant Colonel Dagworthy received 
£30, each captain £16, lieutenant £12, ensign £9, and non- 
commissioned officer £6. The remainder was devoted to the 
purchase of clothing and suitable necessaries for the privates. 



* Green's Gazette; Bacon. 
t Green's Gazette. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 121 

From this time forth, Maryland had Httle concern in the war, 
although its rangers, numbering two hundred and thirty men, 
were engaged in the expedition against the Shawanese towns, 
the only affair of moment after the capture of Fort Duquesne. 
Occasional bands of Indians passed Fort Pitt and committed 
depredations upon the frontiers, but the hardy settlers were 
now fully able to protect themselves. The principal features 
of its late history are of a pacific and legislative character. 
Yet that legislative history is full of interest, for it led eventu- 
ally to the revolution. It was a continuous struggle for the 
rights of the commons. 



CHAPTER VIL 



THE DAYS BEFORE THE REVOLUTION. 

From the earliest period a contest had been waged in 
Maryland between the two principles contained in the charter. 
The result of that contest, in every stage had been a further 
and broader development of the democratic and a diminution 
of the aristocratic features. The germs of both were fully 
contained in that instrument, but the spirit of the people and 
the necessities of the times tended constantly to the vigorous 
growth of the one and the utter destruction of the other. This 
contest was now rapidly verging to its final issue. 

The representatives of the people who sat in the lower 
house insisted upon an exclusive right to frame and amend 
bills for raising money ; the upper house, which was simply 
the council of the governor and with him represented the 
Proprietary, by whom they w^ere appointed, claimed for them- 
selves a share in the imposition of taxes. While immediate 
danger impended over the colony in 1756, the commons had 
permitted their claim to slumber that the public safety might 
be secured ; but now that the war had been removed from their 
borders, they planted themselves firmly upon their old posi- 
tion. Remonstrance and petition from the friends of the Pro- 
prietary and commands from the crown v\^ere alike disregarded. 
Fully concurring in the necessity of conquering Canada in 
order to secure peace to the colonies, at each session they 
passed bills to afiford aid and assistance to the royal arms, but 
in every instance, from their unwavering adherence to their 
position the bills failed to become laws. Nine times in succes- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 123 

sion did they thus adopt a bill similar to that rejected in 1758 
and as often was it negatived by the upper house. The opinion 
of His Majesty's attorney general, Pratt, was in vain brought 
before them to induce them to yield. They claimed that they 
were the sole representatives of the people and that "the people 
could only be taxed by their own consent." It was impossible 
to subdue their firmness. The other colonies murmured and 
the English government became indignant at the repeated re- 
fusals of Maryland to aid the royal arms. The statesmen of 
England, satisfied at length that it was impossible to compel 
the colonies to tax themselves by means of royal requisitions, 
determined to have recourse to indirect taxation. 

Peace was declared in 1763 and the French colonies were 
ceded to England. She possessed the whole northern conti- 
nent; but to counterbalance this acquisition she found herself 
laboring under a heavy debt contracted during the war. She 
had already encroached upon the rights of the colonies by 
compelling them to furnish requisitions, resisted by Maryland 
alone, and, finding these insufficient to meet her wants, she 
prepared to advance one step further in their complete subju- 
gation. They were rich and populous and firmly attached to 
liberty. Freedom on the one part and supremacy on the other 
were prizes' worth strugghng for. 

The condition of Maryland was prosperous in spite of the 
ravages it had suffered during the war. Its population in 
1761 amounted to 164,007 persons, of whom 114,332 were 
whites and 49,675 blacks, principally slaves. It possessed few 
manufactures. Even then, however, 2,500 tons of pig-iron 
and 500 tons of bar iron were annually produced and the great- 
ness of its recources was undisputed. Its people were frugal 
and industrious, they had spread themselves almost to the 
utmost limits of the province. Peculiarly fitted for commerce 
and navigation, with most of its territory within thirty miles 
of streams navigable for boats, its soil rich and exuberantly 
productive to the labor of the husbandman and planter, it 
needed only__the acquisition of independence to make it a pow- 
erful, flourishing and sovereign state. Such was the spectacle 



124 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

that met the eyes of England. The result of its scrutiny was 
the passage of the stamp act. 

Under pretence that the government had assumed large 
burdens in their defence and the apparent obligation on 
their part to bear a portion of those obligations Lord Grenville 
in 1763 notified the agents of the colonies in London that at 
the ensuing session of parliament he intended to propose a 
duty on stamps for the purpose of raising a revenue from the 
provinces, at the same time giving them the privilege of sug- 
gesting as a substitute any other mode of parliamentary taxa- 
tion that would be more agreeable to them. In the session 
which followed a resolution to the same effect was adopted, 
but the ministry did not yet venture to take the final step. 
They were preparing the way. The restrictions on colonial 
trade were tightened and the lucrative commerce with the 
Spanish and French islands was entirely cut off. The indig- 
nation of the people was aroused ; they saw at once that Eng- 
land designed to deprive them of their liberties and to make 
them the mere subjects of the British parliament. "Assemblies 
remonstrated, public meetings denounced and agents peti- 
tioned. The measure was resolved upon and, on the 22d of 
March, 1765, the Stamp Act was finally imposed."* The in- 
terval of two years, which had been intended as a preparation 
of the minds of the people for submission, only enabled them 
to gather their energies for universal resistance, in the open 
manifestation of which, it is true, Massachusetts and, Virginia 
took the lead, from the advanage of opportunity, though, in 
unanimity, firmness and success, Maryland surpassed them all. 
It is its proud boast that its soil was never polluted by the 
obnoxious stamps. Everywhere the utmost indignation was 
excited ; the columns of the Maryland Gazette teemed with 
articles assailing the measure. Pamphlets were issued, public 
appeals were made, and the minds of the whole people of the 
province were firmly arrayed against it. The other colonies 
expressed their opposition by remonstrances and protests 



* McMahon, 332. 



HISTORY OF AIARYLAND. 125 

through their legislative bodies; if Maryland did not at once 
speak through the same channel, it was because the Assembly- 
was prorogued from 1763 until September, 1765, and it could 
only have recourse to the pen, the press, or open violence. 
But at the session of September, 1765, the Assembly solemnly 
protested against the measure and indignantly complained that 
thus for two years they had been deprived of the power of 
publicly declaring their lasting opposition. Ere that period 
arrived, however, the people of the colony had already vindi- 
cated their rights in a more summary manner. 

Zachariah Hood, a native of Maryland and a merchant at 
Annapolis, was appointed in the summer of 1765 stamp distrib- 
utor for the province. He brought with him from England 
a cargo of goods, together with the obnoxious stamps. When 
he arrived in the harbor of Annapolis, the ferment reached its 
height. The people gathered in crowds at the dock, determined 
to prevent his landing ; an outbreak ensued, in which one of 
their number, Thomas McNeir, had his thigh broken, and 
Hood, at the very seat of government, was compelled to draw 
off from the shore and effect a landing, clandestinely, at an- 
other time and place. No sooner had the tidings of his arrival 
spread through the country, than the people gathered into the 
city and prepared to show their utter detestation of the man 
who could consent to become the instrument of foreign tyr- 
anny. The effigy of the stamp distributor was mounted on a -^ 
one-horse cart with sheets of paper in its hands and paraded 
through the streets amidst the execrations of the crowds, while 
the bells tolled a solemn knell. The paraders marched to the 
hill, tied the effigy to the whipping-post and bestowed upon it 
nine-and-thirty lashes, which the crowd humorously styled 
giving "the Mosaic law" to the stamp distributor. It was then 
swung from a gibbet, over a tar barrel and set on fire. Similar 
exhibitions of popular feeling occurred in Baltimore, Fred- 
erick, Elkridge and other towns.* 



* Annals of Annapolis, go, etc. 



126 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Hood offered for sale at reduced prices the large stock 
of goods which he had imported, but the people not only re- 
fused to purchase them, but carried their resentment to the 
extent of tearing down a house which he was preparing for the 
reception of his merchandise. They also threatened him with 
personal violence. In fear of his life Hood fled from the prov- 
ince and sought refuge in New York under the guns of fort 
St. George. But Hood found no safety even under the guns 
of a British fortress. Determined to vindicate the honor of 
their native province and to punish a son who had taken part 
against her a number of daring patriots followed* him to Long 
Island, seized him in the midst of his fancied security and gave 
him the alternative of resigning his office and renouncing and 
abjuring, under oath, its exercise forever, or of being con- 
ducted back to Maryland and delivered up to the just indig- 
nation of the people. Hood prayed, protested and sought 
compromise, but the patriots were inexorable. His abjuration 
was fully made out and sworn to before a justice of the peace 
at Jamaica and he was set at large. v 

Thus when the Assembly met in September they found the 
work of resistance accomplished. It only remained for them 
solem.nly to declare their rights which had thus been vindicated 
by the people. No deliberation was needed, for there was no 
difference of opinion. Many of the delegates indeed acted 
under instructions from their constitutents. They took favor- 
able action upon a proposition which Massachusetts, assuming 
the initiative, addressed to the colonies, for a meeting of colo- 
nial deputies, and appointed as Maryland's representatives Col. 
Edward Tilghman, William Murdock and Thomas Ringgold. 
These gentlemen were expressly directed to take care that any 
representation or petition, prepared by the congress to be 
presented to the English government, should contain an as- 
sertion of the absolute right of the colonies to be free from 
taxation "save by their own consent, or by that of their rep- 
resentatives, freely chosen and appointed. "f 



* Grahame, vol. i, 397. 

t Votes and Proceedings, 1765, p. 7. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 127 

And now, in behalf of the people of Maryland, they pro- 
ceeded to make a solemn declaration, which was emphatic 
even in that day of protests and resolutions, and placed the 
rights of the province upon broad and incontrovertible grounds. 
On the last day of that short but glorious session of only five - 
days, they unanimously resolved that the early settlers of 
Maryland had brought with them all the rights of British sub- 
jects and could not be taxed but by their own consent; that 
their rights had been fully secured to them by their charter 
in which express renunciation was made of the power of the 
crown to tax the people of the province ; that the trial by 
jury was their birthright, and, finally, that the people of Mary- 
land had always enjoyed the right of being governed by laws 
to which they themselves gave assent. Not being represented 
in the British parliament they asserted the legislature alone 
had the power to impose taxes, and, therefore, that taxes laid 
under color of any other authority were unconstitutional and 
an infringement of their rights.* Having thus rendered this 
session sacred to the cause of liberty-, they entered into no 
other business. Refusing to give the governor advice he asked 
concerning the disposition of the stamp paper which was daily 
expected to arrive in the province, they were prorogued to 
meet in November following. 

The Proprietary government yielded slight assistance to the 
ministry in putting the Stamp Act in operation in the colony. 
Governor Sharpe, after the delegates had refused to interfere, 
upon the recommendation of the upper house who represented 
that if the stamps were landed they would certainly be de- 
stroyed, determined to deposit them until further orders should 
be received from England, in one of the royal cruisers stationed 
on the Virginia coast. In the meanwhile, the war of words- 
went on. Daniel Dulany, a man eminent for learning and 
ability and distinguished as a lawyer, published a pamphlet, 
which was universally acknowledged to be one of the best 
defences of the rights of the people which appeared during 



* Votes and Proceedings, H. D., September, 1765, p. 10. 



128 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the controversy. In this work he reviewed the whole ground 
and concluded with an appeal to the people to produce manu- 
factures for themselves and compel their antagonists to yield 
by striking at their interests. Yet while he thus defended the 
cause, he disapproved of the proceedings of "the sons of lib- 
erty," in which some of the most active and distinguished men 
of Maryland had taken part. The course of Daniel Dulany 
upon this subject is a strong testimony of the secret hostility 
to the measure of the Proprietary party of which he was an 
adherent ; when, however, the question was made of the rights 
of the Proprietary against the people and finally of indepen- 
dence, which must destroy their rights entirely, Daniel Dulany 
was found in the ranks of those who vainly attempted to stay 
the torrent of popular progress and to sustain the tottering 
power of Proprietary and crown. 

The colonial Congress met at New York on the first 
Tuesday of October, 1765 ; all the representatives of Maryland 
were present at this body, which proceeded to prepare an ad- 
dress to the crown, a petition to parliament and a declaration 
of the rights and grievances of the people. Their proceedings 
were submitted to the Assembly of Maryland at its next ses- 
sion in November and were unanimously approved by the 
House, which passed a vote of thanks to the commissioners 
for the able manner in which they had performed their duty, 
and at their May session, 1766, caused the Journal of the Con- 
gress to be printed with their own. Fearful lest an insidious 
attempt should be made to bind the consciences of the judges, 
magistrates and other provincial officers, the House, imme- 
diately on the opening of the November session, upon adopting 
the usual rules for their government, directed that the com- 
mittee on grievances should likewise act as a committee on 
courts of justice ; and instructed the members to "observe the 
nature of all the commissions to the several courts of judica- 
ture within the province, and, especially to observe any altera- 
tions that may at any time happen by accidental omission, or 
otherwise, therein ; and particularly relating to such words 
therein, as require the several judges and justices to hear, try 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 129 

and determine, according to the laws, statutes, ordinances, 
and reasonable customs of England and of these provinces" 
— and instantly to report the same to the Assembly. The 
committee was also directed to examine the oaths of office 
taken by the magistrates ; and the House declared, as a neces- 
sary portion of these oaths, the following clause : "To do equal 
law and right to all the king's subjects, rich or poor ; and not 
to delay any person of common right, for the letters of the 
king, the lord Proprietary, or for any other cause ; but if any 
such letters come to them, they shall proceed to do the law, 
the same letters notwithstanding."* These provisions were, 
to a certain extent, aimed against the enforcement of the stamp 
act. 

America had been compared to a conquered country ; 
the House declared that Maryland could not be so consid- 
ered, that the inhabitants had planted themselves there, with 
the permission of the crown, and had become prosperous, with 
the blessing of God, by their own labor ; and unanimously 
resolved, that those who asserted that they had forfeited any 
part of their English liberties, were not well wishers to their 
country and mistook its constitution. They, likewise, declared 
that the "province hath always, hitherto had the common law 
and such general statutes of England as are securative of the 
rights and liberties of the subject, and such acts of Assembly 
as were made in the province to suit its particular constitution, - 
as the rule and standard of its government and judicature:" 
and intimated that by these alone should the judges, and mag- 
istrates and other officers be guided. These resolutions, the 
unanimous expression of the representatives of the people, 
afford a distinct indication of the popular feeling. They, how- 
ever, fall short of its depth and excitability, which was evi- 
denced on the slightest opposition on the part of the upper 
house and governor to the acts of the lower house.f 

Many of the debts incurred during the late war, still 
remained unpaid, and not a few unascertained ; some of which 



* Votes and Proceedings, H. D., 1765, November session. 
t Votes and Proceedings. 



130 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

were claims for money advanced to fit out or supply their 
companies by the different officers, among whom were Capt. 
Evan Shelby, to whose services the House bore ample testi- 
mony ; Captains Ware and Price, afterwards officers of Small- 
wood's battalion ; Capt. Joshua Beall, and Lieut. Rezin Beall, 
afterwards brigadier general of the Maryland troops of the 
flying camp. At November session, a resolution was passed 
for the payment of such claims as had been adjusted together 
with the journal of accounts. The upper house rejected the 
resolution on the ground that there were some equally deserv- 
ing whose demands had not been included and suggested cer- 
tain allowances for the clerks of council and others. The lower 
house agreed to all these items save those claimed for the 
clerks of the council and refused to separate the journal of 
accounts from the list of debts. A warm controversy ensued 
between the two houses ; in the meanwhile the 'claims of all 
cencerned being postponed. 

The people of the west were principally interested, and 
there the deepest feeling was aroused — excited, according to 
the assertions of Governor Sharpe, by the efforts of Colonel, 
Thomas Cresap, a member from Frederick county, who was 
reported to have said that nothing would be done unless the 
people took it in hands. They gathered in force at Frederick 
to the number of three or four hundred men, armed with rifles 
and tomahawks, proceeded to elect officers and declared their 
intention to march by companies to Annapolis and settle the 
disputes between the two houses. The inhabitants of Elk- 
ridge pursued a similar course and despatched two magistrates 
to Annapolis with the significant threat that according to the, 
tenor of the express they should receive from the capital, a 
number of men would or would not be in sight of that place 
in two days time. These ominous facts were communicated 
to the House by Governor Sharpe with the recommendation 
to consider seriously the bad effect of large bodies of people 
assembling to overawe either branch of the legislature. ThQ 
House replied with assurances that every proper step should 
be taken to prevent such an occurrence, at the same time de- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 131 

fending Colonel Cresap, until evidence should be brought 
against him. The session lasted but ten days longer, and these 
were spent in disputes which had no result but that of post- 
poning the question to the ensuing session. 

The associators, for the armed men who had thus assem- 
bled had bound themselves together by written pledges in a. 
petition prepared for presentation to the lower house, declared 
"their satisfaction at the conduct of that body in opposing the 
stamp act," declared their set purpose to oppose future attempts 
of the sort to invade their liberties, and requested that they 
might be informed if the upper house persisted in its unjust 
pretensions "in order that the signers might come down and 
cause justice to take place." Their zeal, however, seems to 
have been restrained by the more prudent element of the popu- 
lar party, and the session passed off without further demonstra- 
tion. The controversy was not settled until December, 1766, 
when a committee of conference was appointed and a com- 
promise effected. 

The Stamp paper "having at length arrived at Newcastle 
on the Delaware, in October, 1765, on board His Majesty's 
ship Sardoine, commanded by Captain Hawker, the governor, 
unwilling to enforce the obnoxious law and desiring to screen 
himself behind the lower house again demanded some expres- 
sion of opinion on their part as to its disposal. They persisted 
in their refusal to do so. By the advice of the council, he di- 
rected Captain Hawker to retain it on board his ship. To the 
commands of the English secretary to execute the law at all 
hazards, he replied that it was impossible without the aid of 
a strong military force and that the peace of the colony had 
hitherto only been preserved by the cautious measures he had 
adopted. Knowing that a considerable time must elapse be- 
fore further orders could arrive, or troops be sent, the gov- 
ernor hoped to weather the storm without exciting the hos- 
tility of either party. But a new difficulty arose and he was 
constrained to extend his conciliating policy still further. 

The law had made stamps necessary in many transactions ; 
for a time therefore a partial cessation of business ensued. 



132 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

But the obstacle was soon overcome and the Frederick county 
court had the high honor of first deciding the unconstitution- 
ality of the stamp act.* This decision was received with joy 
and the people hastened to celebrate so important and signi- 
ficant an event. The festival took place in Frederick on the 
30th of November, 1765. "The sons of liberty" marched in 
funeral procession through the streets, bearing a coffin on 
which was inscribed: "The Stamp Act, expired of a mortal 
stab received from the Genius of Liberty, in Frederick county 
court, 2^d November, 1765, aged 22 days." . Zachariah Hood, 
the late unfortunate stamp distributor, was represented as the 
chief mourner and the whole afifair ended merrily in a ball. 
In the public offices, at Annapolis, however, business still 
continued to be interrupted for the want of stamps, the time- 
serving officers hesitating to treat the law as a nullity and 
fearing to attempt its enforcement. This inconvenience the 
people determined to remedy and in February, 1766, the inhab- 
itants of Baltimore and the adjoining country formed them- 
selves into an association of "the Sons of Liberty" — a society 
for the maintenance of the rights of the people, and adjourned 
to meet at the capital to put an end to this abuse. The public 
officers were very politely notified of their coming and re- 
quested to be in readiness to receive them. On the first of 
March they assembled according to adjournment and pre- 
sented a petition requesting the resumption of business by the 
31st of March. The timid officials temporized and the sons 
of liberty adjourned to meet again, having called on their 
brethren in the counties to assemble with them. On the 3d 
of April they came together in great strength and again laid 
their petition before the general court. At first they met with 
a refusal. They again "earnestly insisted and demanded with 
united hearts and voices" in terms to which resistance was no 
longer possible. Then the court yielded, perhaps not unwill- 
ingly, and the public officers followed their example. Business 
was again resumed as if the British parliament had never 
thrown an obstacle in its way and the stamp act, the offspring 



* McMahon, 359. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 133 

of its power, though still unrepealed, had ceased to exist even 
indirectly in Maryland. 

Its fate in the province foreshadowed its downfall in Eng- 
land. Tlie opposition, hoping to gain strength in their party 
contests, united with the friends of the colonies in assailing 
and overthrowing the administration that had obtained its 
passage. Pitt brought his eloquence to their assistance in par- 
liament, and on the i8th of March, 1766, the obnoxious act 
was repealed. But while performing this act of simple jus- 
tice, the parliament did not fail to censure the recalcitrance 
of the colonies and to renew its claim to the power of imposing 
taxes upon them. The repeal of the .obnoxious measure was 
received with acclamation in Maryland. Everywhere the peo- 
ple manifested their joy by festivities and illuminations. In 
the midst of their rejoicings they did not forget the debt of 
gratitude which they owed to the distinguished and enlightened 
statesmen of England, who had proved themselves friends of 
the colonies in the long struggle. In November, 1766, the. 
House of Delegates, "taking into their most serious considera- 
tion, the noble arid spirited conduct of the Right Honorable 
William Pitt, now Earl of Chatham, and the Right Honorable 
Charles Pratt, Lord Camden, late lord chief justice of the com- 
mon pleas, and now lord high chancellor of England, in de- 
fending and supporting the rights and liberties of their fellow- 
subjects in general," "to transmit to posterity their grateful 
sentiments of the inflexible integrity, and conspicuous abilities 
of these shining ornaments of their country, and as a monu- 
ment of their virtue" and "a lasting testimony of the gratitude 
of the freemen of Maryland," unanimously decreed that a 
marble statue of Chatham should be erected in the city of^ 
Annapolis, and a portrait of Lord Camden, by some eminent 
hand, placed in the provincial court — a refinement of compli- 
ment worthy of the eminent men who led the proceedings in 
that day. They also directed their agent in London, Mr. 
Garth, to tender their most sincere acknowledgments to the Earl 
of Chesterfield, Lord Shelburne, Secretary Conway, General 
Howard, Colonel Barre, Sir George Saville, Alderman Beck- 
ford, and all other members of the lords or commons who had 



134 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

"acted the like glorious part of defending, through principle, 
the just rights of the colonists."* Messrs. Ringgold, T. John- 
son, Wolstenholme, Hall, Grahame, Hanson, Murdock and 
Chase were directed to draw up and report a bill making the 
resolution effective. It passed the lower house ; but, as like 
every act of that unyielding body, it assumed that the right 
of originating money bills was vested in the delegates alone, 
the governor and council withheld their approval. The act 
of gratitude, therefore, failed ; but its failure even was hon- 
orable to the sturdy independence of the House. Thus the 
stamp act ended in victory for the people, tending to unite 
them more firmly together and proving their strength, thus 
united, aginst the schemes of oppression. It prepared them 
to resist the next invasion of their rights with even greater 
energy.f 

The English government, even in the moment of defeat, 
still clung to the idea of raising a revenue from the colonies. 
It goaded their pride to yield, yet they determined to proceed 
hereafter in a more cautious manner. Townshend declared, 
in parliament, in 1767, that, "he knew how to raise a revenue 
from the colonies without giving them offence ;" and his 
opponents, who had originated the stamp act, replied with a 
taunt : " You dare not tax America." But the tax was de- 
termined on. On July 2, 1767, an act was passed by par- 
liament, laying a duty upon tea, paints, glass and paper im- 
ported into the colonies, under the specious pretence of reg- 
ulating commerce. But Townshend was not more fortunate 
than Grenville. The old spirit of resistance again broke out, 
the press teemed with appeals to the public, and the colonists 
were soon prepared to meet this as they had met the stamp 
tax. Massachusetts again took the lead, and having framed 
a petition to the crown, addressed a second circular to the 
sister colonies advising them to adopt similar measures. 

The legislature of Maryland did not assemble until the 
24th of May, 1768, but public opinion had already settled their 



* Votes and Proceedings, November, 1766, p. 136. 
t McMahon, 320-364. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 135 

course. The British government finding that the spirit of re- 
sistance was aroused, had ordered the various governors to 
prorogue the Assembhes of their provinces, if they manifested 
any disposition to unite in measures of opposition, hoping 
thereby to disable the patriots and reduce their strength. But 
the Assembly of Maryland was too wary to be thus circum- 
vented. The patriots prepared their measures in advance. 
They then took into consideration the Massachusetts circular 
and appointed a committee to draft a petition to the king. 
Immediately the message of the governor was presented and 
they were warned that they would be prorogued if they per- 
sisted. Without reply or delay, they instantly adopted the 
petition and passed a series of resolutions, which they had 
already framed ; and, having successfully taken every step 
the occasion demanded, drew up a sharp reply to the governor, 
stating their readiness to be prorogued. This message was 
borne to the governor by Robert Lloyd, the speaker of the 
House, attended by all the members in procession. They were 
accordingly dissolved.* 

This spirited body contained among its members many 
of those distinguished patriots who bore honorable share in 
the revolution in the council chamber or the battle field. Thom- 
as Johnson, Wiliam Paca, Samuel Chase, Matthew Tilghman, 
Thomas Cockey Dye, Francis Ware and William Smallwood 
sat in the House, besides many others of less note. A special 
committee was appointed to inspect the state arms. Their 
report displays the poverty of the magazine : there were 785 
muskets, old and new ; 420 bayonets, 262 swords, 35 pistols, 
47 pikes, 2 halberts, 97 kegs of shot and musket ball, 80^/2 
barrels of powder, and 15 pieces of cannon.f 

The colonists were not yet prepared for an appeal to arms. 
It was necessary that every peaceful means of redress should 
be exhausted ; and, having tried petition and remonstrance, 
they determined to resort again to "Non-importation" which 
had been introduced in the days of the stamp act. This policy 

* Votes and Proceedings, 1768. 
t Votes and Proceedings, 1768. 



136 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

was first revived in Boston, Sut was not generally adopted 
until all hope of redress from parliament was abandoned. At 
an early period of the struggle county associations had been 
formed in Maryland for the purpose of united action and it 
was now deemed expedient to bring them together. On the 
Qth of May, 1769, upon solicitation by the people of the coun- 
ties several merchants of Annapolis addressed a circular to 
the people calling a general meeting at that city for the pur- 
pose of consulting on the most effectual means of lessening 
the future importation of goods from Great Britain. On the 
20th of June the people assembled at beat of drum and entered 
into articles of non-importation of British superfluities, as well 
as for promoting frugality and the use of American manufac- 
tures. They unanimously pledged themselves to these pur- 
poses, and also to hunt out and punish all infractions of the 
pledge. To extend the operations of the association, twelve 
printed copies of the resolutions were sent to each county, 
that they might be signed by the whole people. 

In the beginning of the ensuing year, the spirit of the 
associators was put to the test. "The Good Intent," a Brit- 
ish bark, arrived in the harbor of Annapolis with a cargo of 
the obnoxious articles. A meeting of the associators was 
called and a committee of three appointed to examine into the 
case ; and upon their report it was resolved that the goods 
should not be landed. Accordingly the brig was compelled to 
return to London with her whole cargo.* Nor was this the only 
or most striking instance of resistance to the tax upon tea. 
Long before the destruction of tea in Boston harbor by dis- 
guised men the patriots of Maryland calmly, openly, and in 
the presence of the governor and the provincial officers dis- 
cussed and set at defiance this obnoxious act and effectually 
prevented its execution. When other measures were required 
they were not found wanting. Their calm but determined oppo- 
sition brought the English merchants to their senses ; and they 
resolved to send no more prohibited goods to Maryland. 



* Annals of Annapolis. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 137 

While Maryland was thus firmly vindicating its rights, the 
other colonies began to fall away from their duty. 

The English ministry, alarmed at the unbroken front of 
the opposition, promised, in an address to the colonies, the 
repeal of the duty on all articles except tea, which accordingly 
was done on the 17th of April, 1770; New York and Phila- 
delphia did not hold to their agreement and several merchants 
of Baltimore also resolved that they would import the articles, 
now released from duty, and requested the general convention 
of the associators of Maryland to consider the matter. Dele- 
gates from all the counties met at Annapolis, but far from 
yielding their assent to the proposition, denounced it and its 
authors, and declared that they would hold no communication 
with them if they persisted in their intention. Thus while the 
people of the cities proved recreant, those of the counties re- 
mained firm. They had already proclaimed the merchants of 
New York and Philadelphia faithless to their pledge and trai- 
tors to the cause, they would not yield to the solicitations of 
those of Baltimore. At last Boston gave up the system ; and 
the societies of Maryland began to despond. Yet they did not 
abandon their pledge, and if for a time they seemed to do so, 
it was because more absorbing and more direct questions arose. 

The public officers of the province had always been com- 
pensated by fees for each service performed, instead of regular 
salaries. These fees were fixed by the legislature from year 
to year, and were rated in tobacco, payable either in that article, 
or in money, at a fixed valuation per pound. The profits of 
some officers had become enormous. Mr. McMahon estimates 
the annual receipts of the secretary of the colony at $4,376 ; 
of the judges of the land office at $6,876; and of the commis- 
sary's office, at $3,923.* It is not strange that the people be- 
came restless at these exactions. But there was another burden 
which now no longer exists ; the clergy of the Episcopal 
church were supported by tithes. But the act of 1702, passed 
at an Assembly, which as it was now contended, was improp- 



* McMahon, 382. 



138 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

erly convened, the rate had been fixed at forty pounds of 
tobacco per head ; subsequently, by the act of 1763, it was 
lowered to thirty pounds ; and yet, even then, so large were 
the proceeds that as an example, the income of the parish of 
All Saints in Frederick amounted to one thousand pounds 
sterling or nearly five thousand dollars a year. These fees 
and tithes were collected by the sheriff by process of execution, 
if not voluntarily paid.* 

In the general spirit of opposition to unjust burdens and 
abuses which had arisen, these two did not escape, and the 
legislature, in 1770, when the acts authorizing these imposi- 
tions had expired, took up the question and endeavored to 
diminish the amount of the fees and obtain other reforms. 
But the persons most directly interested and holding the most 
profitable offices — Daniel Dulany, secretary ; Walter Dulany, 
commissary general, Calvert and Stewart of the land office, 
sat in the council or upper house, and resisted every attempt 
to infringe upon their profits. From this moment Daniel Du- 
lany and his compeers became arrayed against the patriots. \ 
Interest proved stronger than public spirit and the popular 
champion during the stamp tax struggle became the defender 
of Proprietary rights and royal privileges during the subse- 
quent contests. After an ineffectual attempt to arrange the 
affair, the House after having ordered the arrest of the clerk 
of the land office for taking illegal fees, was prorogued by 
Governor Eden. There was now no law in existence for the 
collection of officers' fees, and that for the rating of tithes had 
also expired. For the clergy it was contended that the act of 
1702 was revived by the expiration of that of 1763, and they 
proceeded to collect their tithes, at the rate of 40 pounds of 
tobacco instead of thirty ; while for the protection of the offi- 
cers, who, with the established clergy, formed the mainstay 
of the royalist party, the governor on the 26th of November 
issued a proclamation fixing the old rates of fees and requiring 



♦ McMahon, 398. 



HISTORY OF :MARYLAND. 139 

the officers to receive the amount of money if tendered.* 
The people of Maryland had never yet submitted to an 
arbitrary exercise of power, and the proclamation at once 
revived the fire of the Sons of Liberty. Parties were formed. 
The officers and the established clergy and their adherents 
rallied around the governor, against the body of the people, 
headed by the almost unbroken front of the lawyers of Mary- 
land, including the eminent jurist, Daniel Dulany. As in for- 
mer controversies, public opinion was appealed to in every 
way by popular addresses, pamphlets, and discussions in the 
columns of the Maryland Gazette. 

Charles Carroll of Carrollton was descended from a 
family which had settled in the province before the Pro- 
testant revolution. He was born in 1737, at the city of 
Annapolis, and at eight years of age sent to France to 
be educated. At the age of twenty he commenced the 
study of law in London. He returned to Maryland in 1764, 
just in time to aid in the struggle which his countrymen were 
waging against tyranny. He had opposed the stamp tax ; he 
took part again in the contest against parliament. Daniel Du- 
lany was his foremost adversary and the controversy was the 
most marked of that day. It was carried on under the names 
of the "First Citizen" and "Antilon." The articles were able 
and eloquent. The cause Charles Carroll represented prevailed, 
for he fought on the side of popular rights. Yet this noble 
patriot "was a disfranchised man and could not even vote at 
an election.! and had heaped upon him epithets of bigotry 
and of hate. He triumphed with the people, lived to see them 
free and great and prosperous, and survived as the last of the 
noble band of signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

The elections coming in the midst of the controversy, 
turned upon its issues. They resulted in the complete success 
of the popular party. In recogniton of the brilliant leadership 
of Charles Carroll, the people assembled at public meetings 



* McMahon, 399. 
tibid., 391. 



I40 HISTORY OF MARVLAXD. 

instructed their delegates to convey him a vote of thanks, 
which was done. 

The last Assembly, in 1771, had petitioned against the 
arbitrary exercise of power. Now, the people determined to 
give additional weight to the proceedings of the new house. 
Upon the closing of the polls at Annapolis the popular can- 
didates, Messrs. Paca and Hammond, were uoclared elected, 
and the people set about celebrating their victory. They 
marched in procession to the gallows, preceded by two flags, 
on one of which was inscribed "Liberty," and on the other, 
"no proclamation," with the representatives elect between them ; 
then followed a sexton and a clerk, a coffin containing a copy 
of the proclamation cut out of one of Mr, Dulany's articles 
in its defence, — and muffled drums and fifes, playing the dead 
march, and a large concourse of people from town and country, 
with six pieces of cannon bringing up the rear. The coflPin 
with its contents, the obnoxious proclamation, was suspended 
from the gallows, then cut down and buried, amid loud shouts 
and discharges of minute guns, whose sound swept ominously 
to the government house and its defeated adherents. On the 
coffin was inscribed the following significant words : 

" The proclamation, the child of folly and oppression, born the 
26th of November, 1770, departed this life 14th of May, 1773, 
and buried on the same day, by the Freemen of Annapolis."* 

Similar feeling was evinced throughout the state when 
the result of the elections was announced. It might have 
warned a government not devoted to ruin. The clergy of the 
established church still insisted upon their arbitrary claims 
and they had recourse to the courts to sustain their exactions. 
But the lower courts in many instances decided against them. 
The controversy had now lasted three years, and thrown the 
colony into commotion, unsettling the course of its laws and 
interrupting public business. The whole tobacco inspection 
system was destroyed and aflFairs could no longer remain in 



* McMahon, 396-7^ 



HISTORY OF MARYLAXD. 141 

such a condition. At length a compromise of several of the 
subjects of dispute was effected and the rest were merged 
and forgotten in a new and more exciting contest. 

The tax upon tea had not yet been repealed and although 
the non-importation societies for a time declined in their vigor, 
so constant was the opposition of the people and so obnoxious 
had the use of that article become, that it ceased to be imported 
and large quantities accumulated in the warehouses of the East 
India Company in England. The British government deter- 
mined to make a last effort to subdue the colonies and to enlist 
the interests of the company in their project, offered it a draw- 
back of the amount paid in duty. Thus the price of tea in the 
colonies would not be increased by the duty and, in that aspect, 
the submission to it would have been merely nominal. But a 
"t. principal^ was at issue and the people would not submit. The 
'^ East India Company, however, eagerly accepted the offer and 
vessels loaded with "the detestable zveed," as the colonists 
termed it, were sent to Charleston, Philadelphia, New York 
and Boston. At Charleston the tea was landed, but the agents 
dared not expose it for sale ; the vessels destined for New 
York and Philadelphia were compelled to return to England 
without landing their cargoes. At Boston a more determined 
effort was made ; and, sustained by a strong body of troops, 
the royal governor resolved to carry the measure into effect. 
But the patriots, by a bold and sudden stroke were victorious. 
Disguised as Indians, a party entered the ships, broke open 
the chests and threw the tea overboard. This spirited measure 
called down upon Boston the vengeance of the government 
and in March, 1774. she was deprived of her privileges as a 
port of entry and discharge, and steps were taken to further 
strip the people of Massachusetts of their liberties. The only 
effect of these measures was more completely to arouse the 
colonies. 

The people of Maryland were not wanting in this crisis ; 
a general convention was called for, public meetings were at 
once held in all the counties and delegates chosen, who met at 
Annapolis on the 22d of June, 1774. The resolutions of this 



142 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

distinguished body breathed a spirit of the most determined 
opposition to the tyranny of England. They proposed an abso- 
lute cessation of intercourse with the mother country, directed 
subscriptions to be made for the relief of the Bostonians, 
and having named Matthew Tilghman, Thomas Johnson, Rob- 
ert Goldsborough, W'illiam Paca and Samuel Chase, delegates 
to the general congress, declared that the province would break 
off all trade or dealing with any colony, province or town that 
refused to come into the common league. 

Nor was it long before the firmness of the non-importa- 
tion associators was tried ; and if the tea party of Boston has 
been thought worthy of renown, the tea burning at Annapolis, 
open and undisguised, surpassing the former in every respect, 
should not be forgotten. 

In August, 1774, the brigantine "Mary and Jane," Capt. 
George Chapman, master, arrived in the St. Marys river with 
several packages of tea on board, consigned to merchants in 
Georgetown and Bladensburg. The committee of Charles 
county immediately summoned the master before them, and 
desired Mr. Findlay, one of the consignees, to also appear. 
The explanations and submission of these gentlemen were 
declared satisfactory and, as the duty had not been paid, they 
were discharged upon the pledge that the teas should not be 
landed but should be sent back in the brig to London. The 
committee of Frederick county pursued a similar course with 
the consignees at Georgetown.* But a more serious infringe- 
ment of the rules of the "association" soon occupied public 
attention. 

On the 14th of October, the brig Peggy Stewart arrived 
at Annapolis, having in its cargo a few packages of tea con- 
signed to Thomas Williams & Company. The duty was paid 
by Mr. Anthony Stewart, the owner of the vessel. This sub- 
mission to the oppressive enactment of parliament, called forth 
the deepest feeling. A public meeting was held at which the 
owner of the vessel and the Messrs. Williams, the consignees, 



* American Archives, 4th series, vol., i, pp. 703-5. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 143 

in the most humble manner apologized for their offence and 
consented to the burning of the tea. But the people were de- 
termined to exact a more signal vindication of their rights ; 
the easy compliance of Mr. Stewart with the act had aroused 
their anger and threats were poured out against his vessel and 
himself. Alarmed at the impending danger, Mr, Stewart, 
by the advice of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, to soothe the 
violence of the people and make amends for his fault, offered 
to destroy the vessel with his own hand. The proposition was 
accepted and while the people gathered in crowds upon the 
shore to witness its consummation, Mr. Stewart, accompanied 
by the consignees, went on board the brig, ran her aground 
on Windmill Point and set fire to her in presence of the multi- 
tude. Two months later the people of that portion of Fred- 
erick, which is now embraced in Washington county, having 
met at Hagerstown, compelled one John Parks to walk bare- 
headed, holding lighted torches in his hands, and set fire to 
a chest of tea which he had delivered up and "which was con- 
sumed amid the acclamations of a numerous body of people." 
The committee voted that no intercourse should be held with 
Parks and the people, to complete his punishment for having 
concealed "the detestable weed," assailed and sacked his dwell- 
ing. Similar evidences of popular determination were mani- 
fested throughout the colony, and while they tended to exas- 
perate the royalists, their success gave new spirit to the 
patriots.* 

The anxiously expected congress assembled on the fifth of 
September, 1774. It issued a manifesto setting forth the rights 
and grievances of the colonies, and proposing as a measure 
of retaliation a very extensive scheme of non-importation of 
British goods. On its adjournment, the Maryland Convention 
was again assembled on the 21st of November and havinjr 
unanimously approved of the proceedings of the congress, 
adjourned over to the 8th of December, to give time to the 
counties not yet represented to send in their delegates. With 



* Annals of Annapolis, 158-165. 



144 HISTORY OF jMARYLAXD. 

their organization on that day, closed forever in fact the power 
and dominion of the last Proprietary of Maryland. 

The people of the colony had always loved and revered 
the family of the founder of the province and under the gov- 
ernment of his descendants had enjoyed a large liberty and a 
constantly increasing prosperity. It seemed as if Providence, 
when the great struggle for liberty and independence was ap- 
proaching, had interposed to sever that link, which might have 
bound them to England and served to lessen their ardor in 
the common cause. In 1758 Frederick, last of the lords Bal- 
timore, became a widower and never married again, but, after 
having led a dissolute life, died in Italy in 1771, at the age 
of forty. Having no legitimate children, he devised the prov- 
ince to his natural son, Henry Harford, Esq. The title of Lord 
Baltimore could not descend to him, and thus the name of the 
founders of the colony passed from their descendants just as 
their rule over it was about to cease. Although the people 
might have clung with affection to the memory of the old 
lords Baltimore, a Proprietary who was not only an alien, 
but of illegitimate birth, could only increase their discontent 
and make them seek more eagerly for independence. As Henry 
Harford was the last Proprietary his representative, Robert 
Eden, was the last English governor of Maryland. He re- 
mained in the colony long after his authority had passed from 
him to the people. In the month of June, 1776, by permission 
of the committee of safety, he embarked on board the British 
sloop of war, Fowey, and joined Lord Dunmore, the late gov- 
ernor of Virginia, in the bay. On reaching England he was 
knighted for his services. After the close of the war, the late 
Proprietary and his governor returned together into the State, 
where the latter died not long after near the city of Annapolis. 

A period of one hundred and forty years had passed sincia 
the two hundred colonists under Leonard Calvert landed on 
the wild shores of the little river-island at the southern ex- 
treme of the province. Their descendants had already ex- 
tended to its northern boundary, covered its eastern shore with 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 145 

wealth and civilization, crossed the Blue Ridge, filling its rich 
valleys with a bold and hardy population, and planted them- 
selves upon the sides of the Alleghanies. On its bays and. 
rivers floated the fleets of a growing commerce, while some of 
its towns were growing into populous cities. Although de- 
voted to agriculture the people turned their attention to the 
mineral wealth of their soil, and the forge and the furnace 
were already actively at work, while other manufactures needed 
only a fostering hand to be successfully established. 

In 1774 the power of the lord Proprietary, with that of 
the British crown, was verging to its fall and the province 
was governed by a sovereign convention of the people. Many 
struggles, and not a few revolutions had aided in bringing 
about this change ; and in all there were elements of progress. 
Until the year 1649 there were no restrictions, no penalties 
upon any Christian belief. When religious dissensions began 
to creep into Maryland the act of 1649 was passed, reflecting 
the intolerant spirit of the times. While the men of that day, 
Protestants and Catholics, were desirous of assuring to all 
"professing to believe in Jesus Christ" full and equal rights; 
they did not dream of extending them to those who denied 
the articles which all denominations agreed in considering 
the requisites and the common ground of Christianity. "Blas- 
phemy against God, denying our Savior Jesus Christ to be the 
son of God, or denying the Holy Trinity, or the godhead of 
any of the three persons" thereof, they considered great crimes, 
for which they prescribed "the punishment of death and the 
confiscation of lands and goods to the lord Proprietary. Blas- 
phemy is even now deemed an oflfence against the laws. To 
all Christians equal rights and privileges were extended by 
the Proprietary government; and this, measured by the sen- 
timents of that age, is no slight glory. In the revolution of 
'89, this toleration was overthrown, as it had been suspended 
during the days of the commonwealth, but its gradual exten- 
sion to all dissenters from the established church, as the politi- 
cal excitement of that period passed away, prepared the people 



146 HISTC^RY L)F MARYLAND. 

for the equality which dawned Hke a brilHant morn upon the 
opening- revokition of 1776. Yet the Jew remained enthralled 
until a much later period.* 



* 1824-5. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE REVOLUTION. 

With one accord the patriots of Maryland at the call of 
the convention, hastened to bury all private animosities, all 
local differences, all religious disputes, and to equalize all 
rights and "in the name of God, their country and posterity, 
to unite in defence of the common rights and liberties."* The 
dominion of the British crown and the rule of intolerance in 
Maryland sunk under the same blows and perished together, 
never more to be revived. 

On the 8th of December, 1774, the convention again as- 
sembled and proceeded to make preparations for an armed 
resistance to the power of England. And now was presented 
the singular spectacle of two governments over the same peo- 
ple ; the old, silent and powerless, and yet possessing all the 
machinery of power and the will to exert it ; the new, exercis- 
ing an irresistible authority throughout the colony, peacefully 
and without direct contravention of law controlling even the 
business of the people, overlaying and rendering useless the 
old. and, by common consent, exercising supremacy. The 
convention itself was the general legislative and executive 
body and its resolves and recommendations were received by 
the people as laws, being carried into effect through the county 
committees of safety, vigilance and correspondence. All who 
refused to submit to these decrees were summoned before them 
and the judgment of the committees upon them published and 
from that moment the offenders became the mark of public 
scorn and contempt. The connection of the province with 



Maryland Conventions, p. 10. 147 



148 HISTORY OF .MARYLAND. 

other colonies was prescrvotl throug^h the delegates sent to the 
national congress and through the general corresponding com- 
mittee. This simple machinery was rendered eflfective by pub- 
lic opinion. It formed the first transition step from the old 
establishment to the present system. 

Having thus provided for the exercise of their authority, 
the convention proceeded to resolve that if the crown attempted 
to carry out by force the measures against Massachusetts, 
Maryland would assist her to the last extremity. To give 
earnest of their sincerity, they ordered that all the men in 
the colony from sixteen to fifty years of age should be enrolled 
antl organized into companies and armed, equipped and drilled, 
ready for instant service ; and that an assessment of ten thou- 
sand pounds.* should be levied on the counties, in proportion 
to their population, to be expended in the purchase of arms 
and ammunition, under the charge of the county committees. 
Matthew Tilghman, John Hall, Samuel Chase, Thomas John- 
son, Jr., Charles Carroll of CarroUton, Charles Carroll, bar- 
rister, and William Paca were appointed corresponding com- 
mittee for the colony, and Messrs. Tilghman, Johnson, Robert 
Goldsborough, Paca, Chase, Hall and Thomas Stone, delegates 
to congress. Then, having called on their sister colonies to 
prepare for the general defence and besought all men to enter 
with united hearts and hands into the approaching struggle, 
the convention adjourned on the I2th of December to meet 
again at Annapolis on the 24th of April, 1775.! 

The resolves of the convention were immediately carried 
out ; old and young enrolled with the greatest enthusiasm. 



* The proportion assigned to the counties is a matter of interest, as 
showing their relative wealth and population at that period. 
St. Mary's £600 

Charles, 800 

Calvert, 366 

Prince George's, 833 
Anne Arundel, 866 
Frederick, i,333 

t Conventions of Maryland. 



Baltimore, 


£933 


Talbot, £400 


Harford, 


466 


Queen Anne's 533 


Worcester, 


533 


Kent, 566 


Somerset, 


533 


Cecil, 400 


Dorchester 


480 




Caroline, 


358 


i 1 0.000 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 149 

and money, arms and ammunition were everywhere collected 
to meet the approaching- crisis. Maryland was girding herself 
for the struggle. It broke out in open conflict just before the 
meeting of the convention. 

The 19th of April, 1775, the first blood was shed in the rev- 
olutionary war on the field of Lexington, and the result of the 
contest between provincial valor and patriotism and British skill 
and discipline served only to rouse the whole people. The 
British government, finding every attempt to compel submis- 
sion to their arbitrary enactments had failed, in the fall and 
winter of the preceding year, gathered a strong force at Boston 
and cut off all communication between that city and the coun- 
try. This step only hastened the preparations of the patriots, 
instead of overawing them. Magazines of arms and ammu- 
nition were collected, and minute men enrolled, and the coun- 
try put in such a state of defence that at a moment's warning ' 
the militia swarmed together in thousands. 

In the midst of this excitement General Gage, who com- 
manded the British troops, sent a detchment to destroy the 
provincial magazines at Concord and Lexington. At Lexing- 
ton, warned in spite of the precautions of the enemy, about 
seventy minute men hurriedly assembled to make resistance. 
As the British approached. Major Pitcairn, who led their 
van, galloped up, calling out, "disperse, rebels!" The soldiers 
at the same time charged, firing a volley upon their half-armed 
opponents, and the militia dispersed,, leaving on the ground 
eight men killed and wounded. Immediately the news spread 
abroad, and before the British had finished their work of exe- 
cution at Concord, their advance parties were driven in. From 
Concord to Lexington a continuous fire poured upon them from 
every fence and cover. Worn and exhausted, they reached 
Lexington where they were joined by strong reinforcements 
with cannon. But no sooner had the march been recommenced 
than the galling fire of the provincials again opened upon them. 
The route of the retreating column was marked with their 
slain. At length they found security under the guns of their 
ships near Bunker Hill, on the evening of the 19th of April, 



I50 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

having lost in killed, wounded and prisoners two hundred and 
seventy-three men. The loss of the Americans did not exceed 
ninety. At each point where the skirmishing took place the 
British gave tiie first fire, the provincials remaining upon the 
defensive, desirous not to violate the letter of the law. 

The first hlood shed in the cause of liberty aroused the 
land.* North and south went the news upon the wings of 
the wind ; day and night hurried expresses from town to 
town, from committee to committee to arouse the country. A 
full account reached New York on the 25th of April at two 
p. m., Baltimore at ten p. m., and Annapolis next morning 
at half past nine o'clock.t Onward thence the news went 
southward from town to town, endorsed by each committee, 
with the time of its receipt and its departure, and the solemn 
order "night and day to be forwarded." Speedily it penetrated 
the farthest recesses of the colonies. From Massachusetts, 
through Rhode Island and Connecticut, through New York, 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, through Maryland, \'irginia, 
North Carolina and South Carolina, to Charleston, it went 
in twenty days, from April 20 to May 10, over the rough 
and difficult roads of that period. Each committee on the 
main route made and retained copies of the despatches and 
sent off others by express throughout the interior. By this 
admirable arrangement, the whole land was bound together, 
intelligence conveyed, and a common system of action pre- 
served. 

The war had now commenced and nearly twenty thousand 
volunteers immediately assembled about Boston. The British 
troops were themselves besieged. 

The convention of Maryland after a session of four days 
in which it reappointed delegates to congress had just ad- 
journed when the news of these successful battles reached 
Annapolis. The province was too far from the scene of con- 
flict to take an immediate part in the struggle, and upon its 



* The first rumors of the battle reached New York on the morning 

of the 23d and were forwarded south. 
t American Archives, 1775, vol. 2, p. 366, etc. 



HISTORY OF AIARYLAND. 151 

own soil not a single hostile foot was pressed, nor an enemy's 
sword unsheathed. The note of preparation went on busily. 
The enrollments were hastened, minute men were raised ; 
there was no hesitation on the part of the great body of the 
people. New York, by reason of its large Tory population, 
remained impassive and it was found necessary to march a 
body of Connecticut troops within striking distance to overawe 
the Tory tendencies of many of the people, but Maryland had 
long since prepared for resort to arms. 
-tfi ^" ^^^ seventli of June the memorable battle of Bunker 

^ Hill was fought. Hesitation ceased, and doubt everywhere 
•^ gave place to certainty. Congress determined to carry on an 
offensive war. Boston was ordered to be invested, and Gen- 
eral Washington, nominated before that body by Thomas John- 
son of Maryland on the 15th of June, 1775, was chosen com- 
mander in chief of the American forces.* 

In the midst of these exciting events, on the 26th of July, 
the convention of Maryland again assembled, and their first 
step was to adopt the famous "Association of Freemen of 
Maryland," which was subscribed to by all the patriots, and 
became the written constitution of the province until the new 
system was framed in 1776. It approved of the war measures 
of congress, called on the people to sustain them by raising 
forty companies of minute men and provided a complete mili- 
tary system. It vested the executive power during the recess 
of the convention in a committee of safety, eight of whom 
were selected from the eastern and eight from the western 
shore, and directed a large issue of paper money to defray 
all necessary expenses. It also required the voters of the coun- 
ties to elect a committee of observation who were to exercise 
a superintending power in their respective counties. 

To redeem their pledges to the common cause the con- 
vention and committees set about the formation of a regular 
force to be composed of a battalion under the command of 
Colonel Smallwood, and seven independent companies be- 



Sparks, vol. 3, p. 480. 



152 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

sides two companies of artillery and one of marines^.* By 
a resolution of congress passed on June 14, 1775, two com- 
panies of riflemen were called for from Maryland, which, 
with two from Virginia and six from Pennsylvania, were to 
be formed into a battalion and marched by companies as soon 
as enlisted, to the camp around Boston. The two Maryland 
companies were assigned to Frederick county and the com- 
mittee of that county on the 21st of June apix)inted Michael 
Cresap captain, Thonias Warren, Joseph Crcsap, Jr., and Rich- 
ard Davis lieutenants of the first company, and Thomas Price, 
captain, Otho Holland Williams and John Ross Key lieutenants 
of the second. t These companies were soon filled with the 
hardy j)ioncers of western Maryland, and before the close of 
July took up their march for the camp where they arrived in 
August. $ By a subsequent resolve of Congress, in 1776 si.x 
more companies were ordered to be raised, four from \'irginia 
and two from Maryland, which were to be incorporated with 
the four companies previously enlisted into a regiment under 
the command of Colonel Stevenson of Virginia. Lieutenant 
Colonel Moses Rawlings, and Major Otho H. Williams of 
^taryland. 

Yet impatient of the necessary delay in organizing these 
troops, numbers of young men hastened at their own expense 
to join the camp before Boston. The non-importation system 
had rendered the colonFes destitute of the necessaries of either 
peace or war and it was now found almost impossible to pro- 
vide the hastily collected troops with ammunition or clothing. 
Throughout the war the scarcity of these articles and of the 
necessar\- hospital stores, crippled the patriots and caused 
greater loss of life than the sword of the enemy. The arsenal 
at Annapolis was almost devoid of supplies, and the states- 
men of Maryland perceived the necessity of at once providing 
for a permanent supply of military stores. A sum of money 
was set apart by the convention for the manufacture of salt- 



* Convention Journals. 

t American Archives, 4th S., vol. 2, p. 1046. 

tlbid., 3d vol., p. 2. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 153 

petre for the public use. And to encourage a general pro- 
duction of this indispensable material, a bounty of two pence 
was offered for every pound of the rough article made in pri- 
vate factories. Powder mills were also erected ; the manufac- 
ture of wool, flax, and hemp encouraged and the making of 
gun barrels and all the munitions of war undertaken. But the 
Colonial troops were still very deficient in artillery and it was 
thought that this want too could be supplied at home. A citizen 
of the state contracted to supply the province w^ith cannon. 

As yet Maryland had not been threatened with hostilities. 
But a period of real danger was approaching. Dunmore, the 
late royal governor of \'irginia having been driven from that 
colony took refuge on board a man of war in those waters and 
commenced a series of depredations upon the counties border- 
ing on the bay. At the same time he kept up his communica- 
tions with the royalists in that colony and endeavpred to extend 
his influence to Maryland. In July, 1775, John Conolly of Lan- 
caster Co., Pennsylvania, presented to his lordship a plan for 
raising an army in the western parts and cutting off all com- 
munication between the northern and southern provinces. The 
scheme, as set forth in the records of the Frederick county 
committee of safety certainly displayed no small degree of 
talent and skill in its projector. The disaffected on the western 
borders were to be enrolled by the aid of large bounties. The 
Indians were to be called in to their assistance, and the troops 
stationed at Detroit with all the artillery and munitions of war 
from the line of fortresses on the northwest were to form the 
nucleus of the army, which was to march quickly on the de- 
fenceless frontier, cut its way to Alexandria, and being joined 
there by Lord Dunmore, fortify itself under the guns of his 
fleet. It was thus expected to overawe the patriots, strengthen 
and confirm the royalists, and effectually cut off all communi- 
cation between the north and south. Lord Dunmore approving 
the plan despatched Conolly to Boston with letters of intro- 
duction to General Gage, w^ho having given his proposals a 
favorable consideration, sent him back to Virginia with instruc- 
tions. In pursuance of these Dunmore issued to him "a com- 



154 HISTORY OF MARVLAXD. 

mission as Lieutenant Colonel commandant of the forces to be 
raised in the back parts and Canada with power to nominate 
his subordinate officers." Accompanied by Dr. John Smith of 
St. Marys county and Allen Cameron of Virginia, both natives 
of Scotland, he succeeded in effecting passage through the 
most dangerous portion of his route with safety, disseminating 
his evil principles on the way and preparing for the accomplish- 
ment of his purpose. 

But just as he was about to emerge from the hostile set- 
tlements to prosecute the remainder of his journey in supposed 
security he was arrested with his companions and sent under 
giiard to Frederick where he was examined by the committee 
of safety. A copy of his plan, a letter from Lord Dunmore 
to White Eyes, a Delaware chief, to secure his cooperation 
and a treasonable letter to a citizen of Virginia were discovered 
upon his person. Finding further disguise useless he admitted 
the charge against him and with his companions was put in 
close confinement to await the action of the convention and 
congress, who were forthwith notified of the affair by Mr. 
Hanson, the chairman of the committee. In December, con- 
gress directed the prisoners to be forwarded to Philadelphia. 
Dr. Smith succeeded in escaping during the night, but was 
retaken* and the prisoners were delivered safely in Philadel- 
phia. Conolly was afterwards exchanged, and reappeared at 
a later period in the prosecution of his old scheme. f 

While thus endeavoring to organize a force on the west, 
Dunmore was actively at work disseminating the seeds of dis- 
affection through his agents on the eastern shore. He was 
partially successful and raised several companies of men 
pledged to support the royal cause if arms, ammunition and a 
small additional force should be furnished them. They even 
became so bold as openly to tear off the black cockade which 
the patriots wore at their militia trainings to replace it with 
the red cockade and to parade under officers of their own 
selection. A party under one of their leaders in November 



* Sparks, vol. 3, pp. 126-212-271. 

t Proceedings of the committee of safety of Frederick. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 155 

seized on a small craft and sailed secretly to obtain the neces- 
sary supplies of ammunition ; but before the malcontents could 
mature their plans the committee of safety of the eastern 
shore, aided by the committees of Somerset and Worcester 
counties assembled a body of a thousand militia, crushed the 
attempt and secured the principal conspirators. 

Althoug^h defeated in these attempts, Dunmore did not 
desist from his efforts. In January, 1776, he invaded Accomac 
and Northampton, the Virginia counties on the eastern shore. 
As soon, however, as the fact was known by the convention 
which was then in session, three companies of minute men 
were called out for two months' service from Kent, Queen 
Anne's and Dorchester under orders to march to the assistance 
of the inhabitants. Two of these only were in a condition to 
march ; the third, from Dorchester, possessed only ten guns 
fit for service and was unable to procure a supply. The two 
companies that marched to Northampton numbered one hun- 
dred and sixty-six men and were generally well armed but 
many of Captain Kent's men were even without shoes. They 
were received by the people with public demonstrations of 
joy and continued on the station long after their orders had 
expired, in order to afford protection to the people.* 

While Dunmore with his detachments was thus threaten- 
ing the eastern shore he attacked Norfolk with the heavy 
vessels of his fleet. For the protection of the harbors of Mary- 
land batteries were erected near Baltimore and Annapolis and 
several merchant vessels were manned and armed as ships of 
war. In addition to the batteries, the entrance of the basin 
at Baltimore was obstructed by three heavy chains of wrought 
iron stretched across its mouth, and by vessels sunk in the 
channel. The public records were removed for safe keeping 
from Annapolis to Upper Marlborough. These preparations 
were not useless. Early in March, 1776, the Otter, British 
sloop of war made her appearance in the bay with two tenders 
and captured several small vessels. After hovering about An- 
napolis it anchored a few miles below Baltimore with the in- 

* American Archives, 4th. S., vol. 4.— Conventions of. Maryland, p. 40. 



156 TTTSTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tention of destroying the State ship Defence, then nearly com- 
pleted in that harbor. Captain Nicholson, who commanded the 
Defence, determined to retake the prizes and having hastily got 
his vessel ready, and shipped a number of volunteers with a 
portion of Captain Smith's company as marines, bore down 
upon the enemy. He was accompanied by several smaller 
vessels crowded with men. The morning was hazy and the 
British were taken completely by surprise. The tenders es- 
caped with difficulty and all the prizes were recaptured manned 
and cleared for action. 

The Otter, intimidated by the prompt action and formid- 
able appearance of Nicholson's squadron bore away for Anna- 
polis. But finding this place equally well fortified and a strong 
body of the newly organized regidars. as well as militia, 
assembled to protect the town and shipping, she, with her ten- 
ders dropped down the bay without having won cither booty 
or success.* The militia and independent companies which 
had been put under marching orders upon the first appearance 
of the enemy in the waters of Maryland, now followed them 
down the bay shores as fast as possible. Having plundered 
a small island on the Eastern Shore they made their appear- 
ance off Chariton creek in Northampton county, where Mary- 
land minute men were stationed. The tender entered the creek 
for the purpose of cutting out several schooners ; however, 
they stranded. During the night Captains Kent and Henry 
threw up a small breastwork opposite the schooner to prevent 
the captors from carrying her off ; early the next morning the 
tender attempted to dislodge them. After a heavy fire lasting 
an hour, the tender was compelled to sheer oflf without her 
prize. The enemy having withdrawn. Captains Kent and 
Henry were ordered by the Maryland committee of safety 
to return to the province. 

Congress found it necessary to establish a continental navy 
against these maritime depredations so as not to leave the 
defence of the shipping and the coast towns to the few and 
scattered ships of the different colonies which were incapable 



* Annals of Annapolis; American Archives. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 157 

of concentrated effort and were therefore useless as a means 
of cooperation with the army. On the 5th of June the gallant 
Nicholson received a commission in the new navy and took 
command of the continental frigate Virginia. Many other 
Marylanders entered into the service, among whom none were 
more distinguished than Captain William Halleck and Joshua. 
Barney who had shared in the attack on New Providence. 
Early in the year the first continental fleet sailed from Phila- 
delphia, under Commodore Hopkins. The stars and stripes 
were hoisted off that city amid the acclamations of thousands. 
The fleet consisted of five ships, fitted out at Philadelphia. 
At the Capes they were joined by the Hornet and the Wasp, 
from Baltimore. 

In spite of this state of actual hostilities, Mr. Eden re- 
mained in the province as its ostensible governor, while the 
real supremacy was in the hands of the convention. His easy 
and affable manners, the politic course he had adopted towards 
the patriots, and, more than all else, his utter want of power 
to hurt had as yet preserved him from the exile which had been 
the fate of other provincial governors. Heretofore, too, he 
had held a neutral position in the contest. But certain letters 
from Lord Germaine, of the English ministrv- sent through 
Lord Dunmore in approval of his conduct and commanding 
him to hold himself in readiness to assist the crown when occa- 
sion should present, were intercepted by a Maryland cruiser, 
and it was no longer deemed prudent to permit him to remain 
in the colony. Clencral Charles Lee. then at Charlestown, into 
whose hands the letters were placed, immediately wrote to the 
committee of safety at Baltimore, advising that the person 
and papers of Mr. Eden should be at once secured. Mr. Pur- 
viance applied to Major Gist, who commanded the newly 
raised regulars of the Maryland line then at Baltimore, and 
Captain Samuel Smith's company was detached for that pur- 
pose. The committee of safety of Maryland, resenting this 
proceeding on the part of the military, summoned Captain 
Smith before them, and after reprimanding him ordered him 
to return to Baltimore. At the same time, however, consider- 



158 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ing the presence of Governor Eden no longer consistent with 
the safety of the colony, they gave him notice to depart, which 
he did on the 24th of June, on board the Foiccy, which Lord 
Dunmore despatched to receive him. This nobleman, who had 
already ravaged Virginia, now made his appearance in the 
Potomac and threatened Maryland. The convention found it 
necessary to order the militia to the coast to cut ofT his com- 
munication with the disaffected element and to protect the 
inhabitants from plunder. At the same time they earnestly 
set about organizing their portion of the flying camp which 
congress had called for from the middle colonies. The quota 
to be furnished by Maryland was three thousand four hundred 
and five men, to serve until December, unless sooner dis- 
charged by congress, under whose control they were placed. 
But all minor notes of preparation were absorbed in that great 
and final step, the Declaration of Independence. 

For a time the people had continued to look forward to 
reconciliation and an adjustment of their rights. But their 
feelings toward Great Britain had rapidly undergone a change. 
The war, which had been commenced against the measures of 
the ministry, arrayed itself against the claims of the crown. 
The tyranny of the king absolved the allegiance of the people. 
The battles fought during the past year, the victories obtained, 
and the sufferings so patiently endured, taught the patriots 
their own strength. England's persistance in pouring new 
troops into this country to conquer, rather than to conciliate, 
aroused a spirit of hostility which rendered compromise or 
submission impossible. The colonists had gone too far to 
recede had they so desired. The great idea of nationality 
swelled within the breasts of the patriots ; the chains of habitual 
dependence loosened. 

As early as May, congress, looking to a long contest, 
recommended the colonies to adopt permanent governments. 
And on the 7th of June, Richard Henry Lee introduced his 
famous resolution, "that the united colonies are, and of right 
ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT ST.\TES, and that all politi- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 159 

cal connexion between them and the state of Great Britain 
is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." This resolution was 
debated from time to time and the conventions of the several 
colonies, except Pennsylvania and Maryland, directed their 
delegates to vote in its favor. The convention of Maryland 
had instructed their representatives in the preceding December 
and had renewed that instruction in May, to endeavor to heal 
the differences with the mother country, if at the same time 
they gould secure the full and complete liberties of the colonists 
under the British constitution. At all events, they were not to 
vote for the severance of existing relations, or an alliance with 
any foreign power without the previous advice and consent 
of the convention. Before the convention assembled again on 
the 2 1st of June, a change had been wrought in public feeling, 
and the first question which was agitated in that body was the 
all absorbing one of independence. The delegates to congress 
were ordered to obtain permission to attend the convention 
and to have the national question postponed until their return 
with the final resolve of Maryland. 

On the 28th it was unanimously ordered that the dele- 
gates to congress should unite on behalf of the province in 
declaring the colonies free and independent, reserving to the 
State, however, complete internal sovereignty.* Principally 
instrumental in obtaining the passage of this resolution was 
^Charles Carroll of Carrollton. As a reward for his labors in 
behalf of the measure in convention he was, on the 4th of 
July, chosen a delegate to congress in conjunction with Mat- 
thew Tilghman. Thomas Johnson, Jr., William Paca, Samuel 
Chase, Thomas Stone and Robert Alexander. 

On the 2d of July Lee's resolution was passed, and the 
Declaration of Independence, which had already been pre- 
pared, was introduced, discussed and amended. On the 4th 
it was adopted, and was signed by the delegates in congress 
assembled. "There go some millions," exclaimed a member 
as Charles Carroll added his name to the great instrument, 
in allusion to his known wealth. "Nay, there are several 

* Convention Proceedings, 



i6o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Charles Carrolls, he cannot be identified," said another in his 
hearing; and immediately the subject of these remarks added 
to his signature, "of Carrollton," the name of his estate, and 
used to designate him particularly. Having been chosen a 
delegate after the resolution had been passed, Carroll might, 
in fact, have avoided signing the declaration at all. 

The Declaration of Independence, solemnly attested and 
signed by the delegates in congress and approved by the colo- 
nies, was everywhere received with the most enthusiastic feel- 
ings. It was read at the head of the armies of the new republic 
and proclaimed with the applause of a people determined to 
maintain it with their blood. On the 22d of July it was pub- 
licly read at Baltimore, at the head of the independent com- 
panies and the militia, accompanied with salvos of artillery 
and "universal acclamations, for the prosperity of the United 
States." At night, the town was illuminated, and an effigy 
of the king of England paraded through the streets and burned 
in derision of his forfeited authority. 

This step having been taken it was necessary to frame 
a permanent government for the new State. The conven- 
tion accordingly ordered elections to be held for delegates to 
a convention to form a constitution. Then having confided the 
supreme power into the hands of the committee of safety until 
that body should be assembled it adjourned on Saturday, the 
6th of July. One of its last acts was to place the State troops 
at the disposal of congress. The battalion under Colonel Small- 
wood and the independent companies in Talbot, Kent, Queen 
Anne's and St. Mary's counties attached to his command, were 
ordered to proceed to Philadelphia and report themselves to 
the chief continental officer stationed there, and be marshalled 
into the national service. By another resolution passed in 
obedience to a requisition of congress, they directed the raising 
of two companies of riflemen and four of Germans, consisting 
each of ninety officers and men ; one of rifles from Harford ; 
two of Germans from Baltimore and one of rifles and two of 
Germans from Frederick county. The different county com- 
mittees were required to despatch the companies of the flying 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. i6i 

camp as fast as they were organized, and the State committee 
of safety, to superintend the immediate march of the regulars 
under Smallwood. 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE BATTLES OF THE OLD MARYLAND LINE. 

After evacuating Boston, General Howe retired to Halifax 
to wait for reinforcements. But conceiving the design of 
seizing New York, whose inhabitants were favorable to British 
supremacy, and cutting off the northern from the middle states, 
he embarked for that port and arrived off Long Island towards 
the close of June. There were but a few American troops on 
the island, placed there for the purpose of carrying off the 
cattle, and he landed without opposition. He was received 
with the greatest demonstrations of joy by a portion of the 
inhabitants of Long Island, New York and New Jersey, many 
of whom took the oaths of allegiance, and embodied themselves 
into a corps under the command of Tryon, the last royal gov- 
ernor of New York. In the early part of July Admiral Lord 
Howe joined his brother with a fleet of 150 sail and a rein- 
forcement of 20,000 men, swelling his force to 30,000. The 
American army under Washington, after being reinforced 
by several bodies of militia, amounted only to 17,000 men, of 
whom nearly one fifth were sick or unfit for duty. 

It was at this dark hour that the Maryland Line entered 
the field and bore the first shock of battle. No sooner was the 
approach of Howe known in Maryland, than Smallwood's 
regiment took up its route for the seat of war. On the loth 
of July six companies from Annapolis under Smallwood him- 
self, and three from Baltimore, embarked for the head of Elk 
river,* whence they marched to New York and were incor- 
porated into Lord Stirling's brigade. Well - appointed and 



* Annals of Annapolis. 162 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 163 

organized, composed of young and spirited men who had 
already acquired the skill and precision of drilled soldiers, and 
coming at a time when the army was lamentably deficient in 
discipline, they immediately won the confidence of the com- 
mander-in-chief; and, from the moment of their arrival, were 
thrown upon the advanced posts and disposed as covering par- 
ties. On the 20th of August the four independent companies 
remaining in Maryland were ordered by the convention to 
join Colonel Smallwood and place themselves under his com- 
mand, thus incorporating the whole force of 1444 men in one 
body. The brigadier general of the Maryland flying camp now 
rapidly organizing, was also ordered to be subject to Colonel 
Smallwood's command, and the county committees were urged 
to hasten the enrollments and forward the men to the camp 
as fast as possible. 

From the 21st to the 27th of August the British were 
occupied in landing their forces on Long Island. On the 20th 
the Maryland troops, together with those of Delaware, were 
ordered to the scene of the approaching conflict. Colonel 
Smallwood and Lieutenant Colonel Ware were detained in 
New York, on a court martial ; they applied in vain to General 
Washington to permit them to accompany their men, and the 
battalion marched under the command of Major Gist. The 
American army under Putnam was drawn out to occupy the 
passes and defend the heights between Flatbush and Brooklyn. 
During the night of the 26th, General Clinton, with the van 
of the British army, silently seized one of the passes and made 
his way about day-break into the open country in the rear of 
the Americans. He was immediately followed by another col- 
umn under Lord Percy. To divert the attention of the' Ameri- 
cans from their left, another division under Grant, marched 
slowly along the coast, skirmishing with the light parties on 
the road. 

Putnam fell into the trap and Stirling was ordered with 
two regiments, one of which was the Maryland, to meet the 
enemy on the route to the narrows. About break of day he 
took his position advantageously upon the summit of the hills 



i64 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and was joined by the troops driven in by the advancing col- 
umns of the enemy. For several hours a severe cannonade 
was kept up on both sides and Stirling was repeatedly attacked 
by the brigades under Cornwallis and Grant, who were as 
often gallantly repulsed. At length the left wing of the Ameri- 
can force having been completely turned by Clinton and the 
centre under Sullivan broken at the first attack of General 
De Heister, the position of Stirling's brigade on the right 
became perilous in the extreme. The passes to the American 
lines at Brooklyn were in the possession of an overpowering 
British force ; two strong brigades were assailing him in front, 
and in his rear lay an extensive marsh traversed by a deep 
and dangerous creek, eighty yards in width at its mouth. 
Nearer its head, at the Yellow Mills, the only bridge which 
might have afforded the brigade a safe retreat had been burned 
down by a New England regiment under Colonel Ward in 
its very hasty retreat, although it was covered by the Ameri- 
can batteries. The only hope of safety therefore for the gallant 
troops who still maintained the battle and held the enemy at 
bay was to surrender, or else to cross the dangerous marsh and 
creek at its mouth where no one had ever been known to cross 
before.* 

Colonel Smallwood, having arrived from New York, and 
learned the perilous situation of his battalion, applied to Gen- 
eral Washington for some regiments to cover their retreat. 
After a moment's hesitation, as to the prudence of risking more 
troops upon a lost battle, unwilling to abandon these brave men 
to their fate he detached him with Captain Thomas' independent 
company from New England which had just arrived from 
New York, and two field pieces, to take a position on the banks 
of the stream and protect the remnant of the brigade in the 
attempt to cross it. 

The scene of the conflict was within a mile of the Ameri- 
can lines, and while Smallwood was hastening to their aid, 
Stirling prepared to make a last effort to check the advance 
of the enemy and give time to a portion of his command to 



* Colonel Smalhvood's letter to convention, Annals of Annapolis. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 165 

make good its retreat. For this purpose he selected four hun- 
dred men from the Maryland battalion, under Major Gist, 
placed himself at their head, and having ordered all the other 
troops to make the best of their way through the creek, ad- 
vanced against Cornwallis' brigade. As they drew out be- 
tween the two bodies of the enemy it was thought by the look- 
ers on from the camp that they were about to surrender, but as 
with fixed bayonets they rushed to the charge upon the over- 
whelming force opposed to them, fear and sorrow filled every 
heart, and Washington himself wrung his hands, exclaiming, 
"Good God! what brave fellows I must this day lose." Five' 
times this little band charged upon the powerful forces of 
Cornwallis. Each time it was driven back only to gather en- 
ergies for a fiercer assault, until upon the sixth attempt the 
heavy column of the British, reeling under the repeated shocks, 
gave way in confusion. f 

But in the very moment that victory seemed within theif 
grasp, Grant's brigade assailed them in the rear, and the Hes- 
sians of De Heister, fresh troops, came to the aid of Corn- 
wallis in front. Already outnumbered more than ten to one, 
with their ranks thinned by the terrific slaughter, and worn 
down by long fighting, these devoted men could no longer make 
head against their foes. A portion, with Lord Stirling at their 
head, surrendered themselves prisoners of war ; while three 
companies, animated by the most determined valor, cut their 
way through the crowded ranks of the enemy and maintained 
their order until they reached the marsh, where, from the 
nature of the ground, they were compelled to break and escape 
as quick as possible to the edge of the creek. This desperate 
conflict gave time to the remainder of the brigade to make good 
its retreat across the marsh and swim the water, carrying with 
them twenty-eight prisoners. A heavy cannonade from four 
field pieces was kept up by the enemy upon the retreating 
troops, and a strong column of Hessians advanced to attack 
them in the marsh, where, as their guns were already wet and 
muddy, they must have all been cut off but for the unlooked- 



fLord Stirling's letter, Sparks, vol. 4. p. 516. 



i66 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

for fire of the reinforcements under Smallwood, which, placed 
on the opposite shore, drove the pursuers back to the main- 
land where they formed some six hundred yards distant while 
the remnant of the Marylanders swam the creek. Several of 
them, and some of the Pennsylvanians and Delawarians were 
drowned in the attempt or perished in the marsh. Captain 
Thomas* men aided materially in bringing over the exhausted 
survivors. 

The loss of the Maryland troops in this long contested 
battle was most severe. From sunrise until the last gun was 
fired upon the field they were hotly engaged ; and, when the 
rest of the army had been routed or had fled, maintained 
the battle unaided against two brigades of the enemy. "They 
were distinguished in the field," says a letter-writer of that 
day, "by the most intrepid courage, the most regular use of 
the musket, and the judicious movements of the body." Nearly 
half of their force was annihilated. Their loss in killed and 
wounded was 256 officers and men. Captain Veazy and Lieu- 
tenant Butler were slain ; and among the prisoners were Cap- 
tain Daniel Bowie, also wounded ; Lieutenant William Steret, 
William Ridgely, Hatch Dent, Walter Muse, Samuel Wright, 
Joseph Butler (wounded), Edward Praul, Edward Decourcy ; 
and Ensigns James Fernandes and William Courts. The 
people of Long Island point out to strangers the spot where 
half of the Maryland battalion stemmed the advance of the 
whole left wing of the British army when no other troops were 
left upon the field. 

The position of the American army at Brooklyn had now 
become precarious. The British invested their works in form, 
and it was determined to retreat to New York before the ferry 
should be occupied by the enemy's fleet.. On the night of the 
29th, this masterly movement was effected. Although the 
Maryland troops had enjoyed but one day's rest since their 
bloody defence at "the Yellow Mills," they were ordered on 
duty at the advance post of Fort Putnam, within two hun- 
dred and fifty yards of the enemy's lines, and with two Penn- 
sylvania regiments on the left, were to protect the retreat of 



*-' 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 167 

of the army. Under cover of a foggy night and morning 
the movement was successfully effected in spite of the disorder 
of the eastern troops ; it was not discovered by the enemy 
until the last detachment of the Marylanders and Pennsyl- 
vanians was half way across East River and out of reach. 
Drawn off within ear shot of the enemy, yet so silently as not 
to give the slightest intimation of their departure to his sen- 
tinels, the Maryland troops again displayed their steadiness 
and discipline. Two days after this event Colonel Smallwood's 
regiment was ordered to Harlem opposite to Montresore's 
and Buchanan's Islands, of which the enemy soon took pos- 
session ; so that a barrier of only two hundred yards of shallow 
water separated the two forces, across which the men easily 
conversed with one another. 

As the British were now throwing forward their forces 
to surround the Americans on York Island, and, it was found 
impracticable to defend the city because of the disorganized 
condition of the troops, a council of war resolved that the 
army should be withdrawn into the lines below Fort Wash- 
ington. The more portable military stores had already been 
removed, when on the 15th of September the enemy effected 
a landing without opposition, in the face of two brigades of 
Connecticut militia, who fled disgracefully at the first fire from 
sixty of the British light infantry,* and although "from the 
brigadier down to the private sentinel they were caned and 
whipped by Generals Washington, Putnam and Mifflin," they 
could not be brought "to stand one shot."t Disgusted with such 
cowardice, General Washington immediately sent an express for 
the Maryland regiment, drew it from its brigade, and ordered 
it down towards New York to cover the retreat of the army, 
knowing that he could rely upon its maintaining its position 
against all odds. Smallwood posted his regiment upon an 
advantageous eminence on the main road near the enemy, 
where they remained under arms the best part of the day 
until the last troops had passed. Then the British, dividing 



* Sparks, vol. 4 ; Marshall. 

t Colonel SmalI\v6od's letter to the Maryland convention. 



i68 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

their main body into two columns, endeavored to outflank 
and surround him. Having maintained his position as long 
as it was necessary, and having received notice to retreat, he 
retired in good order and reached the lines about dusk. 

On the next day a body of British about three hundred 
strong made their appearance in the plains below the American 
position and the commander-in-chief, to accustom his troops 
to meeting the enemy, detached Colonel Knowlton with a 
corps of New England rangers, and Major Leitch with three 
companies of the 3d \'irginia regiment which had just arrived 
in camp, with orders to attack them. The assault was judi- 
ciously made. Early in the action, however. Colonel Knowlton 
fell, and Major Leitch was mortally wounded. But the cap- 
tains of the companies still maintained their positions. A re- 
inforcement of seven hundred men being received by the 
British, General Washington ordered up Major Price, with 
three of the Maryland independent companies, and Richard- 
son's and Griffith's regiments of the Maryland flying camp, 
which had joined the army on the 8th of September. These 
troops attacked the enemy with the bayonet, drove them from 
their position and were pursuing them towards their lines 
when the commander-in-chief ordered their recall. The loss 
of the Americans was about fifty killed and wounded, that 
of the enemy more than double that number.* 

Determined to force Washington from his position or to 
surround and cut ofif his communications. General Howe landed 
a strong body of forces at Frog's Neck, about nine miles above 
Harlem. The Mar\land troops were immediately marched 
to King's Bridge, to reinforce the detachments already there, 
and to watch the advance of the enemy. At the same time 
it was determined by a council of war to evacuate York Island, 
posting however, a sufficient garrison to maintain Fort Wash- 
ington. Accordingly, leaving the force at King's Bridge to 
cover the rear and to secure the removal of the heavy stores 
and baggage, the army began at once to retire. 



* Sparks, vol. 4, p. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 169 

On the 1 8th of October, having been reinforced, Howe 
commenced the pursuit, and after several skirmishes with 
Glover's brigade took post on the 21st at New Rochelle, where 
he was joined by another strong body of troops. Both armies 
now moved towards White Plains where an entrenched camp 
had been marked out, and already occupied by a body of mili- 
tia. As the enemy approached, General Washington concen- 
trated his forces, and prepared to give him battle. On the 
right of the army, and about one mile from the camp, on the 
road from the North river, was a hill of which General Mc- 
Dougal, with sixteen hundred men, including the Maryland 
battalion under Smallwood, was ordered to take possession. 
On the 28th the enemy advanced in two columns to dislodge 
him. Colonel Rahl, with a brigade of Hessians, made a circuit 
to fall upon the rear of McDougal, while Brigadier General 
Leslie, with the 2d brigade of British troops, the Hessian 
grenadiers under Count Donop, and a Hession battalion, as- 
sailed him in front. At the opening of the cannonade the mili- 
tia took to flight and the artillery fell into confusion and re- 
tired. Smallwood's Maryland regiment was immediately ad- 
vanced to the foot of the hill to meet the enemy and a long 
and severe contest ensued. It sustained itself gallantly under 
the fire of fifteen pieces of the British artillery ; but at length, 
overpowered by numbers, it was compelled to give ground. 
The enemy moved with great resolution upon the remaining 
forces, who made but a show of resistance by keeping up an 
irregular fire in their retreat. Putnam, with Beall's brigade 
of the Maryland flying camp, now came up to reinforce Mc- 
Dougal ; but, finding the foe already in possession of the hill, 
he deemed it imprudent to attempt to regain it, and drew off 
his men.* The loss of the Americans was between three and 
four hundred killed, wounded and taken. 

The Maryland line suffered severely and Colonel Small- 
wood himself was among the wounded. The regulars of that 
gallant corps, worn down by the hard service they had endured, 
and the effects of their wounds, aggravated by the want of 



* Sparks, vol. 4, p. 528; Marshall. 



I70 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

proper medical attendance and hospital supplies, had been 
much weakened as an effective force. On the I2th of October 
there were three hundred officers and men on the sick list — 
many of them incapacitated for duty — Majors Price and Gist 
and Captain Stone were lying ill in New Jersey and Colonel 
Smalhvood and Lieutenant Colonel Ware even prior to the 
battle, were scarcely able to command their troops.* Yet 
under all these trying circumstances, almost without field offi- 
cers, the Maryland line displayed its wonted valor at White 
Plains, and by its sustained resistance to an overpowering 
force w'on new honor for its State. Its loss in this hard fought 
battle was over one hundred men, which shows how obstinate 
was its defence. It had fought three battles in three months ; 
it had been the first of the revolutionary troops to use the bay- 
onet against the British regulars and had used it freely and 
with effect in each fierce conflict. 

General Washington continued to fortify his position ; 
and Howe, satisfied of its strength and the courage of the 
troops who defended it, determined to await the arrival of 
six more battalions which joined him two days after. Wash- 
ington, having now removed his stores and heavy baggage 
to a much stronger ground in his rear, unwilling to risk a 
battle with Howe's present force, withdrew during the night 
to North Castle, about five miles from White Plains, and 
stationed General Beall's brigade of Maryland militia at the 
bridge over Croton river. Abandoning the hope of a success- 
ful assault upon his new position. General Howe broke up 
his camp and retired slowly down the river, towards King's 
Bridge, determined to obtain possession of Forts Washington 
and Lee. As soon as the American commander learned from 
his scouts that Howe's march southward was not a feint, sus- 
pecting that he designed striking through the Jerseys to Phila- 
delphia, he divided his army and leaving three thousand men 
at Peekskill, crossed the Hudson with the troops raised south 
and west of that river. . 



* Smallwood's letter in " Annals." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 171 

Anxious to preserve his little army, he had directed, upon 
the approach of the enemy, the evacuation of Fort Washington, 
but having been assured of the spirit and resolution of the 
garrison, he determined to risk its defence. On the i6th of 
November General Howe prepared to assail it. It was de- 
fended by some of the best troops in the American service, 
under the command of Colonel Magaw, a brave and experi- 
enced officer. He had posted his men in three divisions. Col- 
onel Cadwallader of Pennsylvania, commanded within the 
lines ; Colonel Rawlings of Maryland with his regiment of 
riflemen, was stationed on a hill to the north of the lines ; 
while Magaw himself remained within the fort. Howe ar- 
ranged his forces into four columns of attack, and about ten 
o'clock moved them to the assault. The first division of five 
thousand Hessians and Waldeckers, under General Knyphau- 
sen, advanced against Colonel Rawlings on the north, while 
the fourth division moved against Cadwallader, and the second 
and third crossed the East river in boats and landed within the 
lines. The attack of the first and fourth divisions was received 
with great steadiness and spirit by the Maryland and Penn- 
sylvania troops at their respective positions ; but the detach- 
ment stationed on the East river soon gave way, and Colonel 
Cadwallader was compelled to draw off a portion of his men 
to their assistance. Thus weakened, his main body was soon 
overpowered and began to retire. 

Rawlings still maintained his ground with undiminished 
spirit although not protected by entrenchments. Posted among 
the trees, his riflemen poured in upon the advancing column a 
murderous fire which they in vain endeavored to sustain. The 
Hessians broke and retired. Again they were brought to the 
attack and again repulsed with dreadful slaughter. The Mary- 
land riflemen remembered the destruction of their brethren 
of the battalion by the Hessians at Yellow Mills and did not 
forget to avenge it. But what could a single battalion of 
riflemen, even of such matchless skill and courage, effect when 
opposed to five thousand men armed with the bayonet? Had 



172 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

every other post been defended as theirs was, victory would 
have crowned tlie American arms that day.* But all the other 
troops were already in full retreat. The three divisions of the 
enemy were about to fall upon their rear while they contended 
with a force in front of them far greater than their own. At 
leng-th, by sheer fighting and power of numbers, the Hessians 
reached the summit of the hill. Rawlings, perceiving the 
danger to his rear and learning the retreat of the Pennsyl- 
vanians. abandoned his position, as no longer tenable, and 
retired under the guns of the fort. Being again summoned, 
Colonel Magaw, finding it impossible to maintain the post, 
as his ammunition was nearly exhausted, surrendered the gar- 
rison prisoners of war. Two thousand six hundred men, of 
whom two thousand were regulars were taken prisoners, which 
was a severe loss to the American army. Among the captives 
were Major Otho H. Williams, Lieutenants Luckett, Lingan, 
Davis and Evans, and others of the rifles. Some few of the 
Marylanders escaped across the river. t The loss of the enemy 
was nearly twelve hundred killed and wounded, more than half 
of which was sustained by the Germans in their assault upon 
Rawlings' Maryland and Virginia riflemen. 

Immediately after this disaster. Fort Lee was evacuated, 
and Washington, greatly weakened by the loss of men, re- 
treated on the Jerseys. The term for which most of his troops 
were engaged was about to expire and they began already to 
leave the camp in great numbers. Every effort to raise the 
militia of New Jersey and Pennsylvania to supply their place 
proved ineffectual, and the American general commenced his 
famous retreat towards the Delaware. He reached the Raritan 
on the 1st of December, the day on which the term of the 
Maryland and Delaware flying camp expired, and there was 
compelled to discharge the greater portion of these troops in the 
face of the enemy. Some few remained as volunteers and 
many of the Marylanders re-enlisted in the new regiments 
then forming by the State. With an army reduced to less than 



* Marshall, Sparks, and Wilkinson's Memoirs. 
t Sketch of the life of Everheart. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 173 

four thousand men Washington retired slowly before the im- 
mense force of the enemy, the bare feet of his destitute soldiers 
leaving their foot prints marked with blood upon the frozen 
ground. On the eighth of December he crossed the Delaware, 
secured all the boats so as to prevent the further advance of 
the British, and placed his diminished forces in positions best 
calculated to defend the passage of the river. After a futile 
eflfort to obtain the means of transporting his troops across 
the Delaware, Howe distributed his men in winter quarters 
on the Jersey shore, calmly awaiting the freezing over of the 
Delaware in order to march into Philadelphia, and expecting 
daily the dispersion of the shattered American army. 

The critical situation of Philadelphia, the seat of the 
federal government, the reduced condition of his army and the 
despondency of the whole country, required at the hands of 
the American leader a bold and vigorous stroke and he pre- 
pared to make it. With the continental regiments of Maryland, 
Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, Rawlings' and Hand's 
rifles and the German battalions, he opened the campaign in 
the midst of winter. In the dead of night he crossed the Del- 
aware, at McKonkey's Ferry, with twenty-four hundred con- 
tinentals, and dividing this small force, threw one column 
towards Trenton by the river road and led the other in person 
to the same point, by the Pennington road. At eight o'clock 
he drove in the outposts and assailed the town. At the same 
time the fire of the second division was heard in the opposite 
direction. The British under Colonel Rahl, taken by surprise, 
attempted to form ; but losing their commander in the very 
opening of the action, they were thrown into confusion and 
endeavored to make their escape by the Princeton road. A 
detachment, however, cut off their retreat, and the whole body 
threw down their arms and surrendered. Twenty were killed 
and one thousand taken prisoners. The American loss was 
only two killed, two frozen, and five or six wounded. The 
victory was complete and almost bloodless. Yet one portion 
of Washington's extensive design was not carried into effect. 
General Irvine had been ordered to cross wdth his force and 



174 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

attack the enemy at Burlington, and General Cadwallader to 
conie up on the rear of the enemy at Trenton. The former 
could not get his artillery over, because of the rapid current 
and the floating ice ; while the latter was unable to effect a 
passage with any portion of his troops. Thus that part of the 
comprehensive scheme which aimed at sweeping the enemy 
from the Delaw^are remained unexecuted. Owing to this fail- 
ure, a body of five hundred of the British stationed in the lower 
part of Trenton, finding the road open, escaped to Burlington. 
With his prisoners and the captured stores, General Wash- 
ington immediately recrossed the Delaware to his former posi- 
tion. . 

The victory at Trenton raised the spirit of the country: 
The new levies came in with more rapidity and the American 
leader, in order to follow up his success, recrossed the river 
and took up his position at Trenton with five thousand men. 
Immediately a strong column of the enemy moved against him 
and he retired beyond the Assumpinx, which runs through 
the town. Finding all the passes guarded the British encamped 
and lit their watch fires for the night intending to begin the 
assault at break of day. During the darkness, having heaped 
up his camp fires with fuel to deceive the enemy, Washington 
drew oflf his army and marched silently upon Princeton, where 
a smaller British force w^as stationed. As they neared the town 
General Mercer was despatched with his brigade, composed of 
the remnants of the Maryland regiment under Captain Stone,* 
the Delaware regiment and some militia, numbering in all 
three hundred and fifty men, to destroy the bridge over Stony- 
brook, by which Lord Cornwallis must march if he came to 
the relief of the force at Princeton, One of the regiments sta- 
tioned" at Princeton under Mawhood had already commenced 
its march to join Cornwallis. At daybreak this detachment 
and Mercer's brigade came upon each other near the bridge. 
Mercer's brigade rapidly pressed on to the summit of a hill 
upon the road and assumed an advantageous position behind a 



* Washington, in several of his letters, says that Smallwood's regiment 
was now reduced to a mere handful of men. 



. HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 175 

hedge near Clark's house. Mawhood attempted to dislodge 
him. At the first fire Mercer's horse was disabled and one of 
his colonels mortally wounded and carried to the rear. This 
caused a slight confusion, which was augmented by the death 
of Captain Neal, who commanded the artillery; and Mercer 
himself, while endeavoring to rally his men, received a bayonet 
wound which proved mortal. Many of his troops were only 
armed with rifles and, unable to withstand the bayonet, they 
broke after the third fire.* At this moment Washington 
ordered up the main body of the army and throwing himself 
into the midst of the fire of the enemy led them in person 
to the charge. He rallied Mercer's men under a heavy cannon- 
ade from the enemy, and the Pennsylvanian and the Virginian 
regiments coming rapidly up, the whole body rushed forward 
with a loud cheer. The struggle was short and decisive. The 
British were broken and routed. The regiments in Princeton 
made but a moment's stand, and the Americans entered the 
town in triumph. One hundred of the enemy were killed on 
the spot and three hundred taken prisoners ; the loss of the 
Americans was about one hundred killed and wounded, among 
whom were many valuable officers. At break of day Cornwal- 
lis discovered that the American army had disappeared ; and 
suspecting the plan of Washington, hastily retraced his steps 
towards Brunswick to protect his magazines and heavy stores. 
His advance entered Princeton just as the rear of the American 
army abandoned it, on its way to assume a position at Morris- 
town to recruit the men from the fatigues and hardship which 
they had endured. 

The good results of these victories were immediately felt ; 
confidence was restored, and the hopes of the people became 
brighter. They efifectually recovered New Jersey from the 
British, against whom the Americans, constantly reinforced 
by militia from jMaryland and the adjoining states, in spite 
of the severity of the season, maintained an uninterrupted 
partizan warfare, cutting ofif their foraging parties, attacking 
their outposts, reducing them to great suffering for want of 



* Wilkinson's Memoirs, vol. i, p. 142. 



176 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

provisions, and yet always avoiding any decisive action. The 
British soon found themselves under the necessity of contract- 
ing their cantonments ; and, yielding to the masterly skill of 
their great opponent, abandoned most of their conquests. Thus 
closed the campaign of 1776, a dark and bloody one, yet full 
of glory to the Maryland line, which, a powerful regiment at 
the opening in the month of August, was now reduced to a 
mere handful of men under the command of a captain. Indeed 
the old or first line may be said to have been annihilated in 
the battles which it foucrht from Brooklvn to Princeton. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE NEW CONSTITUTION AND STATE GOVERNMENT. 

In the meanwhile, in compliance with the requisitions of 
the late convention, elections were held throughout the State 
on the first day of August, 1776, for delegates to a new con- 
vention to adopt a constitution and form of state government. 
The number of delegates, their qualifications and the qualifi- 
cations of the voters, the judges of the election and the mode 
of preceding were fixed by the resolutions which directed the 
holding of the elections. On the 14th of August this new body 
assembled and organized by unanimously electing Matthew 
Tilghman president. After having devoted several days to 
the transaction of general business which had accumulated 
since the adjournment of the late convention, and having com- 
pleted their own organization, the convention selected by ballot 
the president and Messrs. Carroll, Paca, Carroll of Carrollton, 
Plater, Chase and Goldsborough, to prepare and report a de- 
claration of rights and form of government. 

While this committee, composed of the ablest and most 
distinguished patriots of Maryland, were busily laboring at 
their arduous duty, the convention was directing the whole 
energies of the State to a vigorous prosecution of the war 
and at the same time conducting the general legislative and 
executive branches of the government. On the 6th of Sep- 
tember they divided Frederick county and erected out of parts 
of it two new counties, Washington and Montgomery, the lat- 
ter named in compliment to the great commander-in-chief, and 
the gallant Irishman who eight months before, under the walls 
of Quebec, had laid down his life battling for American liberty. 

177 



178 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

On the loth the committee reported the bill of rights and con- 
stitution, which were laid over; and on the 17th were ordered 
to be printed and disseminated among the counties for public 
information and discussion, as well as to enable the' delegates 
to ascertain the sentiments of their constituents upon this all 
important subject before they proceeded to act upon it, the. 
convention adjourned until the 30th of the month. 

When the body reassembled, public business pressed so 
heavily upon them that the consideration of the constitution 
and bill of rights was postponed from day to day while mat- 
ters of more immediate importance were disposed of. The 
condition of their troops and the lamentable deficiency of arms 
and ammunition exacted immediate attention. Ample supplies 
were determined on, and the committee of safety were ordered 
to import at the risk of the State, four thousand stand of arms, 
as many good gun locks, fourteen pieces of cannon, twenty 
tons of powder and forty tons of lead, to be purchased with 
wheat, tobacco, flour and other Maryland produce to be for 
that purpose exported by the State. 

Congress, moved by the remonstrances of General Wash- 
ington and satisfied of the inefficiency of hasty drafts of militia 
in the field, resolved to raise a strong regular army and called 
on the states to furnish eighty battalions of men. The quota 
of Maryland was set down at eight battalions numbering four 
thousand men being one tenth of the whole army. The con- 
vention took the matter into consideration and resolved that, 
although the quota assigned to them, being founded on the 
joint number of black and white population, was larger in 
proportion than that levied on the northern states, still, "de- 
sirous of exerting the most strenuous efforts to support the 
liberties and independence of the United States, they would 
use their utmost endeavors to raise the eight battalions de- 
manded from them." But they refused to vote bounties of 
land to the recruits, in accordance with the recommendation 
of congress, lest, not possessing a sufficient quantity of unset- 
tled territory, they should be involved in great difficulty in 
the fulfilment of such a pledge. They therefore determined to 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 179 

substitute a bounty of ten dollars, payable to each recruit in- 
stead of land. Four commissioners were immediately des- 
patched to the camp to re-organize the Maryland troops already 
in service upon the new footing, and to induce as many as 
possible of the regulars and militia of the flying camp to enlist 
for the war. The independent companies were formed into a 
second battalion and the two ordered to be increased to the 
continental standard. The commissioners were furnished with 
the blank commissions, sent by congress, and required to fol- 
low the advice and counsel of the commander in chief in ap- 
pointing and promoting the officers of the new battalions. 

Having thus disposed of the necessary military arrange- 
ments the convention took up the bill of rights and constitu- 
tion. They were fully discussed from day to day, revised 
and amended, and on the 3d of November the bill of rights 
was adopted. On the 8th of the same month the constitution 
of the State was agreed to, and elections ordered to carry it 
into effect. 

While these two instruments were under discussion, Vir- 
ginia adopted her constitution, and in one of its articles insisted 
upon certain claims which infringed upon the known rights 
of Maryland; asserting jurisdiction over the Potomac, the 
Pocomoke and the Chesapeake and her old claims to the 
unsettled territory of the west. The convention paused in 
their discussion to maintain the rights of Maryland, unani- 
mously and in the strongest terms denounced these pretensions, 
and insisted that "if the dominion of those lands should be 
established by the blood and treasure of the United States, 
such lands ought to be considered as a common stock, to be 
parcelled out, at proper times, into convenient free and inde- 
pendent governments." Again, in November, when addressing 
congress, they declared that this territory, claimed by the Brit- 
ish government, if conquered from them "by the blood and 
treasure of all, ought in reason, justice and policy, be consid- 
ered the common stock of all."* Thus, wdiile building up the 
fabric of their own State government, the sage legislators of 



* Conventions of Maryland. 



i8o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Maryland marked out for futurity that grand system of ex- 
pansion of the republic which has since made this union one 
of the most extensive, flourishing and powerful nations of 
the earth.f 

Under the new constitution the government was composed 
of three distinct branches, the legislative, the executive and the 
judiciary. The legislative authority w^as vested in a Senate 
and House of Delegates whose several powers and privileges 
were appropriately marked out. The house of delegates was 
composed of four members from each county and two from 
each of the cities of Baltimore and Annapolis, chosen imme- 
diately by the people, viva voce, at elections held by the sher- 
iffs of the counties at their respective court houses. The senate 
consisted of fifteen members, nine from the western and six 
from the eastern shore ; their term of service was extended 
to five years, and they were chosen by a college of electors com- 
posd of two delegates elected viva voce by the people of each 
county, and one from each of the cities of Baltimore and Anna- 
polis. 

The executive authority of the State was placed in the 
hands of a governor, elected annually by joint ballot of the 
two houses of the legislature. He was assisted in the execu- 
tion of his office by a council of five members chosen by the 
same bodies. His authority was simply executive. He pos- 
sessed no veto upon the legislative proceedings and no means 
of interfering with that branch of the government. By virtue 
of his office he was commander-in-chief of the military forces 
of the State, and he was vested with the power of appointing, 
by and with the advice of the senate, judicial and civil as well 
as military officers. The constitution, besides these and other 
ordinary powers, conferred upon him authority in matters 
which now appertain to the federal government. 

The judicial system of the State was composed of the 
general court, the court of chancery, and the court of appeals, 
besides a court of admiralty. The sheriffs of the different 
counties were elected by the people, and the clerks of the courts 



t Adams : Maryland and the Public Lands. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. i8i 

were appointed by the judges. The register of wills received 
his commission from the hands of the governor. Two treas- 
urers, one for the eastern and one for the western shore, were 
selected by the legislature ; and a register of the land office 
of either shore nominated by the governor and approved by the 
senate. 

The elective franchise was limited by a property qualifica- 
tion ; for the men of that day, just emerging from monarchical 
rule, were not prepared for the adoption of manhood suf- 
frage of later times. Every voter was required to be above 
the age of twenty-one years, to possess a freehold of fifty 
acres of land in the county in which he resided and ofifered 
to vote, or property within the State of the value of thirty 
pounds current money ; and to have been a resident of the 
State for one year prior to the day of election. The qualifica- 
tions of members of the legislature were still farther restricted. 
Besides the usual requisites of a voter, the amount of property 
v.'hich the aspirant to the house of delegates must possess to 
enable him to take his seat, was raised to five hundred pounds 
instead of fifty. Senators were required to be above the age 
of twenty-five, and to own property of a thousand pounds in 
value ; while it was necessary for the candidate for governor 
to possess a freehold of lands and tenements of the value of a 
thousand pounds, to have resided three years in the State prior 
to his election, and to have reached the age of twenty-five.* 

In their solemn declaration of rights, the convention of 
1776 defined the platform upon which they stood: so fully 
and so thoroughly in accord with the principles of freedom 
and justice that the reforms and the progress of subsequent 
tim.es have been but little more than the evolution of the prin- 
ciples which they then formulated. They declared their belief 
in the popular origin of government, while they insisted upon 
the submission of the people to the supreme authority consti- 
tuted by themselves, while they defined those rights of the citi- 
zen which no power could absorb. They disestablished the 
existing State church, and declared that "It is the duty of 



*Original Constitution of Maryland, 1776. 



i82 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

every man to worship God in such manner as he thinks most 
acceptable to Him." If they confined the obligation and the 
privilege within the limits of Christianity, it was because men 
could not yet understand a larger liberty. 

To introduce the new government the constitution provided 
that an election should be held on the 25th of November, 1776, 
for senatorial electors, who were ordered to assemble at Anna- 
polis on the ninth of December, to select nine persons of due 
qualifications from the western and six from the eastern shore 
to compose the first senate of Maryland. On the i8th of 
December an election was to be held in the several counties 
for members of the house of delegates, and at the same time 
and place for sheriffs for the respective counties. The loth 
day of February was fixed for the beginning of the session of 
the General Assembly, and the second Monday of November, 
1777, and annually thereafter, for the election of governor, 
by both houses on joint ballot. The legislature, however, was 
authorized, in the meanwhile, to elect a! proper person to act 
as governor until the regular period appointed by the consti- 
tution for his selection should arrive. Having thus provided 
for the establishment of the new government and appointed 
delegates to congress, with instructions to maintain unimpaired 
the independent sovereignty of Maryland while they consented 
to a confederation with the other states, the convention depos- 
ited the supreme power in the hands of the committee of safety, 
until the new government should rise phoenix-like from the 
ashes of the old, and adjourned on the eleventh day of Novem- 
ber, 1776. 

The elections took place at the specified times. And on 
the fifth of February, five days earlier than the period fixed by 
the convention, the committee of safety, by virtue of the extra- 
ordinary powers vested in them, caused both houses of the 
legislature to assemble at Annapolis. The nature of their acts 
explains the pressing necessity which had induced the commit- 
tee of safety to call them together. During the panic created 
by the disastrous retreat through the Jerseys, congress, on 
the 1 2th of December, had removed from Philadelphia to Bal- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 183 

timore. On the 27th they conferred on General Washington 
extraordinary powers for the raising of troops and the con- 
duct of the war. Great efforts were, in consequenee, made to 
strengthen his army, which was soon further weakened by 
the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The effects of these 
battles was such, however, as to relieve Philadelphia from 
immediate fear of the enemy, and in February congress again 
returned to that city. In each succeeding action the Maryland 
troops had been further reduced until Smallwood's battalion 
and the seven independent companies, which had entered the 
campaign fourteen hundred strong, had been worn down to a 
mere captain's command. In the face of this great loss and the 
largeness of the drafts made upon Maryland, it required un- 
usual exertions to fill up the quota of eight battalions. The 
legislature, therefore, turned their attention to the recruiting, 
service, which they endeavored to expedite. They also made 
every effort to raise niilitary supplies for the destitute soldiers 
in camp, and to provide means for transportation of the mate- 
rial of war through the State. The provisions of several of 
these laws very graphically represent the condition of the coun- 
try at that period, and the slender resources on which the army . 
was compelled to rely. By an act of 1777* the governor was 
required to appoint in every hundred or district, a blanket 
collector, whose duty it was to visit every dwelling house and 
compel the inhabitants to furrlish, under oath, a statement of 
the whole number of blankets which they possessed and 
of the portion not in actual use. One half of all sur- 
plus he was ordered to seize for the use of the army, 
paying their owners the appraised value in State issues. 
To favor enlistments in the national or state service every 
recruit was exempted from arrest for debts under twenty 
pounds currency, and his property entirely freed from 
attachment or execution. To provide comfortable quarters 
for the new recruits while preparing for the field, barracks 
were ordered to be erected at Frederick and the head of the 
Elk, for the accommodation of two battalions each, and at 



Hanson's Laws, ch. 3. 



i84 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Annapolis for one. At the same time that they thus provided 
for defence against the foreign enemies of the State, the leg- 
islature wisely turned their eyes upon those equally dangerous 
domestic foes, who by their restless intriguing and firm ad- 
herence to the British crown, weakened and distracted the 
energies of the patriots. A law was passed to suppress 
and to punish persons guilty of treason to their country. 
As at such periods promptness of action is more neces- 
sary even than severity, the governor was empowered 
to commission special courts for the speedy trial of cul- 
prits charged with these offences. On the nth of Feb- 
ruary the Assembly directed a proclamation to be issued 
against the disaffected in Worcester county, who, only 
repressed for a time by the active measures of the committee 
of safety for the Eastern shore, had again broken out in open 
insurrection. They offered pardon to all who would submit 
and disperse within thirty days excepting, however, fourteen 
of the leaders. As the disturbed condition of the county 
required active measures, Smalhvood and Gist, then in the 
State superintending the formation of the new line, were or- 
dered to march thither with a Virginia regiment of regulars, 
the Annapolis independent company, the company of matrosses 
and Captain Godman's Baltimore artillery. The promptness 
of these measures secured submission. The disaffected were 
disarmed, the most influential of them sent in custody to other 
counties and their estates placed in the hands of commissioners 
for safe keeping.* 

In accordance with the provisions of the constitution, on 
the 13th of February the two houses proceeded to select a 
suitable person for governor of the State. Their choice fell 
upon Thomas Johnson.f On Friday, the 21st of March, 1777, 
he was publicly proclaimed the first governor of Maryland 
under a republican form of government. The ceremony of 



* Journal House Delegates, 1777; Journal of Congress. 

fThe vote for governor was as follows: For Thomas Johnson, Jr., 40;/ 

Samuel Chase, 9; Matthew Tilghman, i; George Plater, i; William 

Paca. I. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 185 

inauguration took place at the state house, in the presence 
of a great concourse of people, the several branches of gov- 
ernment, the civic authorities of the city of Annapolis, the 
military, and many strangers. The announcement was hailed 
by three volleys from the soldiery drawn up in front of the 
state house ; and a salute of thirteen rounds was fired from the 
batteries in honor of the new confederacy. A sumptuous 
entertainment was then partaken, and the festivities of the 
day were closed with a splendid ball. J Thus the new govern- 
ment was fully organized and in active operation ; the general 
and county committees of safety surrendered their powers and 
the law of the constitution spread its aegis over the State. 

The Assembly having fully organized the new seven 
regiments required from the State and settled the rank of the 
officers, adjourned on the 20th of April. On the 15th of June, 
however, they were again assembled for a few days to au- 
thorize the governor to detach a portion of the State's artillery 
companies to Philadelphia to join the continental army, which 
was then very deficient in that arm. In the following October 
they took measures to raise an additional quota of two thou- 
sand men to serve for three years in the Maryland line, assign- 
ing to each county a due proportion to be furnished by it and 
made further preparations to supply their men in camp with 
blankets and necessary clothes. With all their exertions, how- 
ever, the governor and the legislature found it difficult to place 
their quota upon such a footing as they desired. Besides the 
regular complement of eight battalions required by congress 
to complete the army, the State furnished men to many other 
■corps. At the solicitation of General Washington, sixteen 
additional battalions were raised by congress exclusive of the 
State lines. Colonel Nathaniel Gist's, and Hazen's regiments 
— the latter originally intended to be formed of Canadians — 
and Spencer's, Baylor's, and Lee's corps, were partly raised in 
Maryland. The legislature always extended to their officers 
and men in them the same gratuities and the same comforts 
which they provided for their own line, although those from 



t Annals of Annapolis. 



i86 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the other states in these corps were too frequently neglected. 
While they were thus busy in raising the material of war at 
home, their troops, under the new organization, were gallantly 
doing their duty to their country in the field. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777. 

After the battle of Trenton and Princeton Washington 
maintained his position in New Jersey and a constant series 
of skirmishes was kept up by his reduced army of which 
scarcely more than a thousand were continentals. So severe 
had been the preceding campaign that more than two-thirds 
of the regulars engaged had perished or been rendered unfit 
for service ; and when, by the arrival of the new recruits and 
quotas from the several states, the army was increased to eight 
thousand men, at least half of its number were totally ignorant 
of discipline and had never looked an enemy in the face. 
Under these conditions Washington feared for the safety of 
Philadelphia, and with all the militia he could assemble took 
post at a strong camp near Middlebrook. Howe, cautious in 
all his movements, even to the point of timidity, feared to at- 
tack him and resolved to approach Philadelphia by another 
route. After a series of unavailing movements, he embarked 
his whole force for the Delaware, but changing his design 
on arriving at the mouth of the bay passed into the Chesapeake 
on the 2 1st of August with two or three hundred sail of men 
of war and transports.* 

Governor Johnson issued a proclamation calling on the 
militia of the State to arm. He directed that at least two 
companies out of every battalion should take up their march to 
the head of the bay. "To defend our liberties requires our 
exertion," declared the appeal, "our wives, our children and 



* Sparks, vol. 5, p. 46; Annals. 

187 



1 88 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

our country implore our assistance — motives amply sufficient 
to arm every one who can be called a man." Although the 
people everywhere answered the appeal by a resort to arms, 
influenced by those motives which have always detained the 
militia in the vicinity of their homes when an invasion threat- 
ened them, few could be prevailed on to march to the head of 
Elk and leave their families unprotected against any sudden 
inroad of the enemy or his tory adherents. While, therefore, 
the fleet hovered about the bay the men of the neighboring 
shores, although armed and ready for defence, refused to be 
drawn from their homesteads, and the only reliance of the 
governor for disposable militia was necessarily on the counties 
of the interior. The hostile fleet, having anchored for a while 
oflF the mouth of the Patapsco, proceeded to the head of Elk, 
where Howe intended to land his army and strike towards 
Philadelphia. 

While this invasion threatened the State the Maryland 
line was engaged in the attack upon Staten Island. Upon its 
increase to seven battalions it had been divided into two brig- 
ades: the one composed of four battalions was placed under 
the command of Smallwood who was promoted to the rank 
of brigadier general ; the other, formed of the three remaining 
battalions and Hazen's regiment, was assigned to General 
Deborre, a French officer in the service of the confederacy.* 
Colonel Richardson's battalion, in pursuance of an order of 
Congress, had been marched to Sussex county, Delaware, to 
overawe the tories of that State and the Eastern Shore. The 
British force stationed on the island ravaged the main land 
almost with impunity, and General Sullivan, who commanded 
the Maryland division then lying at Hanover, conceived the 
design of attacking and carrying oflF a part of their force, con- 
sisting of a thousand tories stationed on the shore at some 
distance from the main body. For this purpose he divided his 
troops into two columns; the first brigade under General 
Smallwood was to cross at Hasley's Point and attack Colonel 
Buskirk's regiment, which lay near Decker's Ferry. The sec- 

* Sparks. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 189 

ond, under General Deborre, with a few Jersey militia, under 
Colonel Frelinghuysen, was again subdivided when it reached 
the place of embarkation, twenty miles from its encampment. 
Here the troops found but six boats, three of which were allot- 
ted to Colonel Ogden who commanded one detachment of 
Deborre's column, and Colonels Dungan and Allen, who were 
stationed about two miles from each other towards Amboy. 
The remaining boats were assigned to General Deborre, who 
accompanied by Sullivan was to attack Colonel Barton near 
the new Blazing Star ferry and then to form a junction with 
Ogden. All the troops were transported into the island before 
daybreak. 

Misled by his guides. General Smallwood commenced his 
attack at a different point from that intended and Buskirk's reg- 
iment effected its escape. But Ogden and Deborre succeeded in 
a large measure. Lawrence and Barton were completely sur- 
prised and both of them, with several of their officers and 
men were taken. The alarm being given, it became necessary 
to draw off the troops as speedily as possible ; but from the 
scarcity of boats, a portion of the rear guard fell into the hands 
of the British. In killed, wounded and prisoners, the Ameri- 
cans lost 164 officers and men ; but carried with them from the 
island 141 prisoners, of whom eleven were officers. In addition, 
the enemy suffered severely in killed and wounded in the sev- 
eral actions.* On his return from this expedition. General 
Sullivan received orders to join the commander-in-chief, and 
the Maryland line once more approached their native State. 
Finding their homes freed from menace by the enemy the 
militia of Maryland now began to assemble and march to the 
head of the bay. General Smallwood was ordered to leave 
his brigade and lead the men of the Western shore, while Col- 
onel Gist was detached from the line to lead those of the East- 
ern shore. Until the arrival of these officers, who were march- 
ing with the division from New Jersey, the militia were placed 
under General Cadwallader of Pennsylvania. Colonel Rich- 
ardson's regiment of continentals was directed to proceed from 



* Marshall ; Sparks. 



190 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

their station on the Eastern shore to the same place of ren- 
dezvous. Every exertion was made by the State to aid and 
increase the army of Washington, who was now marching 
towards the Brandywine, resolved to risk a battle in defence of 
Philadelphia. 

On the 25th of August the British army landed at the 
head of Elk, and having destroyed the few public stores 
which had not yet been removed, began their march upon Phil- 
adelphia. After several brisk skirmishes the Americans took 
position behind the Brandywine. There on the loth of Sep- 
tember the British advance found them and attempted to force 
their position. The main body marched towards Chadd's ferry, 
where, after a short skirmish, it drove in General Maxwell's 
brigade which had been thrown across the riven to gall their 
advance parties. About eleven o'clock Washington was in- 
formed that a strong body of the enemy under Cornwallis 
having made a detour, was striking for Tremble's and Jeffrey's 
fords, and formed the bold design of crossing the river and 
attacking the column in his front. But having received con- 
flicting reports from Sullivan he abandoned the attempt. About 
two o'clock it was discovered that the information was authen- 
tic, and Sullivan, with the Maryland line and Stirling's and 
Stephens' division, was ordered to change his position and 
meet Cornwallis. This was effected after a rapid march, but 
before he could get into formation, his right wing, composed 
of the Maryland division, was attacked by the enemy. De- 
borre's brigade broke after a slight defence and the centre 
followed. The right wing attempted to rally but was again 
thrown into confusion by a brisk charge of the enemy and the 
whole line gave way. Washington with Greene's division 
hurried to the scene of action only in time to cover the retreat 
of the army. At the same moment General Knyphausen crossed 
at Chadd's ford and drove back the forces stationed there to 
oppose him. 

The loss of the Americans was 300 killed, 600 wounded 
and 300 or 400 taken prisoners. That of the enemy was about 
five hundred killed and wounded. The defeat of Washington's 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 191 

army in this battle has been justly attributed to the confusion 
created by contradictory intelligence, and the careless manner 
in which Sullivan brought his men into action. It is certain 
that the Maryland line, although it behaved gallantly, scarcely 
sustained its ancient reputation while under him, nor equalled 
its subsequent glory when led by its own chiefs in the south. 
Deborre, who commanded one of its brigades was a foreigner, 
unpopular with his men and entirely without their confidence. 
His brigade was the first to break, and his behavior was made 
the subject of inquiry by congress, whereupon he resigned his 
commission. It must be considered, however, that the division 
went into action without several of its principal and most pop- 
ular officers. General Smallwood and Colonel Gist, who pos- 
sessed the entire confidence of the men, were absent at the head 
of the militia, leaving their corps without their usual leaders, 
a material circumstance with inexperienced troops. In addi- 
tion to this a misunderstanding occurred upon the field between 
Sullivan and Deborre which necessarily increased the con- 
fusion. The night before the battle the men had lain on their 
arms and slept but little. They were under arms and in line 
the whole day without food and were hurried into action only 
half formed after a rapid march and sudden change of posi- 
tion. The expedition of Sullivan against Staten Island had 
already excited dissatisfaction and an inquiry in his conduct 
was ordered by congress and he was exonerated. 

The American army retired towards Philadelphia and 
encamped at Germantown for rest; but congress having or- 
dered that another battle should be risked in defence of that 
city. General Washington recrossed the Schuylkill and ad- 
vanced along the Lancaster road. General Smallwood, still 
in the rear of the enemy, was commanded to muster all the 
forces he could to harass their march, and to cut off their for- 
aging parties. The two armies came in sight of each other 
at Goshen, and a sharp skirmish immediately ensued, but a 
violent rain coming up, the ammunition of the Americans, 
which was badly secured, was rendered unfit for use, and the 
troops having few bayonets, were compelled to retire. The re- 



192 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

treat was continued across the Schuylkill where a new supply 
of powder could be obtained in time to risk another battle. 
This movement placed Small wood's troops in great jeopardy, 
being left unsupported in the rear of the British army. His 
force consisted of 1150 militia from the Western shore and 700 
from the Eastern shore under Gist, besides Richardson's regi- 
ment of the Maryland line. He was ordered to join the army 
at French creek ; but before he could execute the movement. 
General Wayne was detached to form a junction with him, and 
thus strengthened he was able to harass the enemy's rear. 

On the night of the 20th of September General Wayne 
bivouacked near Paoli, three miles from the enemy's camp. 
Learning his position from his spies, Howe detached Gen. 
Grey to surprise him. The picket guards were driven in with 
the bayonet, but the division again formed and several regi- 
ments by sustaining the attack with great firmness, gave time 
to the remainder to retreat. At the commencement of the 
action, Smallwood was about a mile distant from Wayne, not 
yet having joined him. His force, principally composed of raw 
militia, could not be relied on in a night attack ; and, upon being 
assailed by a detachment of the enemy, were routed with the 
loss of only one man. The continentals reformed, but the 
enemy drew off without renewing the action. The American 
loss was about three hundred men ; that of the British only 
seven. 

General Howe now moved to take possession of Phila- 
delphia which he accomplished without opposition. Washing- 
ton, weakened by the absence of Wayne and Smallwood, and 
not yet joined by the northern regiments, deemed it hazardous 
to risk another battle in its defence. He however resolved 
to cut ofif the supplies of the enemy from their shipping, and 
to seize the earliest opportunity to strike them in detail. New 
obstructions therefore were thrown into the Delaware, to pre- 
vent the ascent of the fleet, and the garrison of Fort Mifflin 
was strengthened by a detachment of several hundred con- 
tinentals under Lieut. Col. Samuel Smith of the Maryland line. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 193 

In the distribution of the enemy's forces a strong body 
was cantoned at Germantown. Washington considered this 
post favorable to a successful blow and resolved to take the 
enemy by surprise. The main body of the British was en- 
camped in the fields west of the town and stretching towards 
the Schuylkill, on the banks of which was stationed a body 
of Hessians and chasseurs forming their left wing. Their 
right, under Grant, was posted on the east of the town and was 
flanked by the Queen's rangers. On the night of the 3d of 
October the American army advanced to the attack. The right 
wing, under Sullivan, composed of his own division, consisting 
of the seven Maryland battalions and Hazen's regiment, and 
Wayne's division, sustained by Stirling's corps, and flanked 
by Conway's brigade, marched down the Skippack road leading 
over Chestnut Hill into Germantown, to attack the main body 
of the enemy. General Armstrong, with a thousand Pennsyl- 
vania militia, was thrown along the Schuylkill to assail the 
Hessians and chasseurs. The left wing of the Americans, 
under Green, composed of his own and Stephens' divisions, 
marched by the York road to attack Grant's force in front, 
while General Smallwood and Colonel Gist — who by a singu- 
larly perverse policy were still kept from their proper com- 
mands in the line— at the head of one thousand Maryland 
militia, with Formian's Jersey militia, made a large circuit 
to the left, to strike the rear of his position. The whole army 
commenced its march from the camp at Matuchen hills, at nine 
in the evening. The attack was to commence at all points at 
break of day. 

After maching all night the right wing reached Chestnut 
Hill at the appointed time, and a regiment from the second 
Maryland brigade, with one of Conway's, was detached to 
drive in the pickets at Allen's house. The picket was briskly 
assailed but was soon reinforced by all the enemy's light in- 
fantry. The attacking regiments, however, maintained their 
ground until the whole Maryland division was brought to their 
assistance. They advanced in gallant style and with such reso- 
lution that the light infantry were driven from the field after 



194 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

a close and sharp action of fifteen or twenty minutes, and their 
encampment fell into the hands of the victorious line, which 
during these movements had left the road and crossed into the 
field on the western side of the town. The light infantry, 
however, continued their resistance at every fence, wall and 
ditch, while the assailing troops were much retarded in their 
pursuit by the necessity of removing every obstruction as they 
passed. In the pursuit, a company of the 4th regiment under 
Captain Daniel Dorsey was thrown across the road and en- 
gaged with a body of the enemy, who had sheltered themselves 
behind the houses. As the Maryland division was pressing 
on, being already in advance of the rest of the army, Colonel 
Hall attempted to disengage and bring up Dorsey's company, 
but was disabled by an accident, and the command of his regi- 
ment devolved upon Major John Eager Howard who hurried 
on his men through the encampment of the light infantry, and 
captured two six pounders before they reached Chew's house. 
Here they were fired upon by the British, who had thrown 
themeslves into this strong building ; and Colonel Hazen, then 
in commnad on the left of the Maryland, halted in the rear 
of that position. 

In the meanwhile, the remaining regiments of the line, 
under Sullivan in person, pursuing the flying light infantry, 
came upon the main body of the enemy drawn up to receive 
them. A severe conflict ensued. Sullivan impatient of delay, 
at once ordered his Marylanders to advance upon them with 
shouldered arms. They obeyed without hesitation and the 
enemy after a sharp resistance again retired. Wayne had 
moved along the east of the town and was now ordered to 
assail the right of the broken troops, which he did with great 
spirit. Maxwell's brigade had been halted at Chew's house 
and was assailing it gallantly but with great loss. Greene's 
division at length made it appearance on the extreme left, while 
Stephens' fell in with and joined Wayne's. The firing at 
Chew's house, which had become very heavy, now drew back 
Wayne's division, and distracted the several corps with the 
fear that the enemy was in force in that quarter. The morning 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 195 

was dark and hazy and it was impossible to discover the exact 
position either of the British or of their own cokimns. The 
Virginia hne, under Stephens, after having fought with great 
gallantry was thrown into disorder when the enemy were in 
full retreat, by the approach of a party demanding quarter, 
and it was found impossible to rally them. 

The Maryland line, assisted by a regiment of North Caro- 
Imians and part of Conway's brigade, by the movement of 
Wayne were left on their flank, and having continued the 
pursuit a mile beyond Chew's house and expended all their 
ammuniton, they found themselves unsupported by any other 
troops, with the enemy again rallying on the left to oppose 
them. At this critical moment, with their apprehensions fur- 
ther excited by the heavy firing at Chew's house, a light horse- 
man gave the alarm that the British were in the rear. The 
line perceiving the troops on their right flying from the field, 
began to retreat in spite of the exertions of their officers. 
They had already been engaged for three hours in severe 
fighting, and this, added to the long march of the preceding 
night, rendered them physically unable to continue the action. 
They, however, brought off all their cannon and their wounded. 
Their loss was several hundred, principally wounded. Colonel 
Stone of the ist and Major Forrest of the 3d regiment, besides 
many other officers were among the number. Smalhvood's 
division of Maryland and Foreman's Jersey militia were unable 
to form a junction with Greene's division, being detained by 
a breast work which the enemy had thrown up at Lucan's 
Mills. 

It being impossible to restore order the troops were with- 
drawn, having sustained a loss of eight hundred killed and 
wounded and four hundred prisoners. The enemy, according 
to their own accounts did not lose more than five hundred 
men. The steady valor of the Maryland troops on this occa- 
sion won for them the highest encomiums from their com- 
mander, General Sullivan. They were the first in action and 
were most engaged ; and had already routed two bodies of 
the enemy, and pursued them for several miles from the first 



196 HISTORY OF ^lARYLAND. 

point of conflict during the space of an hour and a half, before 
Greene's division came up, and were still actively engaged 
when the rest of the army was retiring. To the failure of co- 
operation, occasioned by the darkness of the morning, and the 
delay of some of the columns by unforseen circumstances, 
must be attributed the difficulties of the day, which created a 
panic and snatched from their hands a victory already won.* 

Washington again resumed his position on the Skippack, 
while the enemy turned their attention to opening their com- 
munications with their fleet by the Delaware. For this purpose 
it was necessary to secure the reduction of Fort Mifilin. In 
order to compel an evacuation of the work, the enemy erected 
a battery at the mouth of the Schuylkill. It was immediately 
silenced by Commodore Hazlewood with his fleet of galleys, 
in v.'hich Lieutenant, afterwards Commodore Barney, of Mary- 
land, served with distinction. On the following night, the 
enemy crossed to Province island and erected another, which 
effectually commanded the block-house at Fort Mifflin. The 
fire of the fleet soon compelled its garrison to strike their flag, 
but while the boats were conveying the prisoners to the ships, 
a heavy column of the enemy again took possession of the 
redoubt in spite of the fire from Fort Mifflin. Colonel Smith 
now attempted to take it by storm, but was twice repulsed 
and his numbers reduced to one hundred and fifty effective 
men by the heavy fire of the redoubt and the severe duty of 
his post. He was compelled to ask for reinforcements. A 
Virginia and a Rhode Island regiment were sent to his assist- 
ance under the Baron D'Arendt, who was directed to take 
command of the whole force. Upon being thus superseded. 
Colonel Smith demanded permission to rejoin his regiment, 
but being satisfied by the explanation of the commander-in- 
chief and his just commendations of his gallant conduct, he 
consented to remain. D'Arendt was soon compelled by ill- 
health to retire from the island, and he again resumed the com- 
mand. On the 22d, Count Donop attacked Red Bank with 
twelve hundred men, but was repulsed with the loss of five 



* Marshall ; Sparks, vol. 5, pp. 80, 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 197 

hundred killed and wounded. At the same time the British 
fleet and batteries opened upon Fort Mifflin. Their fire was 
gallantly returned and two of their frigates were destroyed, 
To reward the brave defence of the Delaware, congress voted- 
swords to Colonels Green and Smith and Commodore Hazle- 
wood. 

But the communication with Philadelphia was too im- 
portant to the British to be abandoned and General Howe 
caused floating batteries to be constructed to attack the post 
from the north, while the fleet and the batteries on the shore 
kept up a heavy fire on the other sides. On the loth of No- ' 
vember a new and heavy battery was opened from Province 
Island, and the fleet approached as near as the obstructions 
in the river would permit. The condition of the fort became 
critical in the extreme. The works were battered to the ground " 
and the men, no longer covered, were killed and wounded 
m great numbers. Colonel Smith himself was disabled. Yet 
for six days this fort was maintained with the most determined 
courage. On the night of the i6th, being nc longer tenable,' 
it was evacuated. Soon after the garrison of Fort Mercer, on 
the approach of Cornwallis, was withdrawn. A part of the 
flotilla was burned ; the remainder escaped above Philadelphia. 
The British obtained complete command of the Delaware. 

Early in December Howe marched his forces out of the 
city as if to attack the American army, and a slight skirmish 
ensued between his advance and the Pennsylvania militia who 
were soon dispersed. On the seventh he approached near the 
main army, and Washington, believing a general action at 
hand, threw Gist, with his Maryland militia and Colonel Mor- 
gan's rifles forward to attack their front and flank. 

The assault was made with great spirit, and, after a severe 
skirmish the enemy's advance parties driven back ; but being 
strongly reinforced, they in their turn compelled Gist and Mor- 
gan to retire. Washington, unwilling to descend from his 
strong position and fight the battle in the plain below, with- 
held his reinforcements and prepared for a desperate defence 
of his camp. On the next day, finding it impossible to take 



198 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

him at disadvantage, the enemy retired to their quarters in 
the city. Their loss in the action with the Maryland militia 
and the rifles was upwards of one hundred killed and wounded ; 
that of the militia sixteen or seventeen wounded, and of the 
rifles, twenty-seven killed and wounded.* 

In a few days after the main body of the American army 
went into winter quarters at Valley Forge. The Maryland 
line, however, under Smallwood, now reduced to 1400 men, 
was stationed at Wilmington, to protect the State of Dela- 
ware from the incursions of the enemy. While on that service 
a detachment succeeded in capturing in the Delaware a British 
brig, laden with stores and provisions, which made their winter 
quarters comfortable as compared with those of Valley Forge 
Among other property thus secured were several valuable 
medical manuscripts belonging to Dr. Boyes, a British surgeon 
of the 15th regiment. These papers Washington, with a char- 
acteristic nobleness of heart, directed to be returned to Dr. 
Boyes, saying that he wished to prove to the enemy that Ameri- 
cans did not war against the sciences.f 

Howe having resigned, was succeeded by General Clinton, 
who received orders in the spring to evacuate Philadelphia.. 
France had resolved to aid the struggling Americans against 
the power of her ancient foe and rival, England. Some of 
her chivalrous sons, with the great and good Lafayette, were 
already battling under the folds of the stars and stripes in 
behalf of liberty ; but now the sympathies of the nation were 
aroused and all France threw herself into the conflict. An 
alliance offensive and defensive was concluded with the envoys^ 
of the United States, and a powerful fleet and army were at 
once despatched to the American coast. Philadelphia was 
easily accessible to a French fleet. The British government, 
therefore, directed its evacuation. This was the first fruit of 
the new alliance. 



* Sparks, vol. 5, p. 182. 
t Ibid., 196-223. 



CHAPTER XII. 



'78 AND '79. 



On the 17th of March, 1778, the legislature again assem- 
bled at Annapolis. In compliance with the earnest request of 
the commander - in - chief, Congress had called on the several 
states for an increase of their forces. The quota demanded 
from Maryland was two thousand nine hundred and two men. 
To insure their speedy enlistment, the legislature assigned to 
each county its due proportion, deducting the two companies 
of artillery already furnished to the army and the recruits 
on hand. To render this arrangement effective it was pro- 
vided that if the counties could not fill their quotas by volun- 
tary enlistments before the 20th of May, the militia should b^ 
subdivided into classes : and, if each class did not furnish one 
man within five days, a draft of one of their own number 
should be made. The recruits as fast as raised were ordered 
to be forwarded to the headquarters of the Marjdand line, 
unless otherwise directed by the commander-in-chief. 

While this extraordinary draft was thus being filled, 
Count Pulaski, a gallant Pole, was busily engaged forming 
his legion, under the authority of congress partly in this State "^ 
and partly in Delaware. He succeeded in raising a corps 
which afterwards did good service to the country, and led it 
on until he perished at its head, victoriously entering a battery 
which he had stormed at Savannah. It seems surprising at 
this day how the scanty population of Maryland, distracted 
as it was by internal dissensions, could have supplied so many 
demands upon it, and at the same time quelled all domestic 
resistance. In Somerset county, a great degree of disaffection 

199 



200 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

still continued in spite of the repeated failure of every attempt 
at insurrection. The legislature now adopted further and 
more rigorous measures to suppress these outbreaks. The 
governor was authorized to order out the militia of any county 
if the occasion required their assistance ; to fit out as many 
of the armed boats or galleys of the State as he should deem 
necessary to guard the coast, and to raise a permanent indepen- 
dent company of one hundred men to be stationed on the 
Eastern Shore during the war.* They also conferred upon 
the executive almost dictatorial authority in case of invasion 
of the State or of a neighboring State by the enemy ; also for 
raising and arming men and supplying provision, clothes, for- 
age and means of transportation. These extensive powers 
were placed by the legislature in the hands of Thomas John- 
son, who had been re-elected governor in the preceding fall, 
and whose sterling patriotism and public virtue merited the 
confidence which was reposed in him. 

In addition to these State aflfairs the governor was fully 
occupied in endeavoring to supply the exhausted magazines. 
The northern and southern states had been very slow in send- 
ing in their quotas of provisions and it was feared that local 
supplies for the army at Valley Forge would become entirely 
exhausted. It therefore required the greatest energ}' on the 
part of the executive to strengthen the quartermaster's de- 
partment. The governor and his council were also occupied 
in carrying into efifect the measures of the legislature to supply 
the quota of the State to the continental army. The stringency 
of the act and its speedy enforcement produced beneficial ef- 
fects. By the middle of June, before the other states had 
well moved in the matter, except New Jersey, the Maryland 
line was raised to its full complement.f 

New elections having taken place the second General 
Assembly of Maryland was convened at Annapolis by Gov- 
ernor Johnson on the 19th of October, 1778. The session w^as 
important ; and was rendered especially interesting by a warm 



* Hanson's Laws. 

t Washington's letter ; Sparks, vol. 5, p. 399. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 201 

controversy between the two houses, excited by an attempt of 
the house of delegates to increase the pay of its members from 
twenty-five to forty shilHngs per day.* The house contended 
that the insufficiency of the per diem, as it did not cover the 
actual expense of a member while in Annapolis, would prevent 
many honorable and efficient men of small means from serving- 
in that body, thus tending to form an aristocracy of wealth 
in the legislature. The senate steadily refused to accede to 
their proposition, alleging that as the constitution had restricted 
the right of membership to men of certain property it was 
clearly intended to place the power of legislation in the hands 
of persons of independent position, and that in the present 
burdened condition of the country it was unjust to increase 
the expenditure of the government. At the same time they 
offered to provide for the expenses of any indigent members 
of the lower house by special pay. The house replied with 
warmth, and the senate, waiving further discussion, the matter 
remained unadjusted. Thus recommenced the struggle be- 
tween the popular tendencies of the constitution and the old 
aristocratic ideas — a struggle which has worked out many im- 
portant changes in that instrument and enlarged the rights and 
hberties of the people. But while thus sharply contending 
upon this minor point, both houses united harmoniously in all 
matters of public importance. 

Under the constitution the number of judges of the court 
of appeals was left undetermined and as yet no such tribunal 
had been erected. As there was a pressing necessity for its es- 
tablishment, the house proposed to the senate to fix the number 
of the court at five. On the 12th of December, 1778, recom- 
mended to the governor and council, Benjamin Ramsey, Ben- 
jamin Mackall the 4th, Thomas Jones, Solomon Wright, and 
James Murray, Esqs., to be appointed judges. Both resolu- 



25 shillings = ^3.33 1-3 ; 40 shillings = $5.33 1-3. Seven shillings 
and six pence, old Maryland currency, were equal to one dollar. 
The State adhered to this manner of reckoning — by pounds, 
shillings and pence — until the close of the war of 1812, when the 
mode of computation by dollars and cents was universally adopted. 



202 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tions were agreed to by the senate, and carried into effect by 
the executive. By this act was completed the organization of 
the government under the new constitution. =■' After providing 
for the support of officers and soldiers who might be in service 
and granting a gratuity of one hundred and fifty pounds to 
the officers of the ^Maryland line and the artillery, to relieve 
them from the distresses incident upon the great depreciation 
of the paper currency, in which they were paid, the legislature 
took up a question, which had heretofore occupied the attention 
of the convention.f 

Virginia still adhered to her claim to the western lands, 
and had succeeded in securing, in the articles of confederation, 
a clause "that no State should be deprived of her territory 
for the benefit of the United States." Maryland refused to 
give in her adherence to the articles while that clause existed. 
The preceding legislature had solemnly protested again this 
unjust appropriation of the public lands, won by the blood 
and treasure of all, and directed their delegates in congress 
to lay their protest before that body and to offer an amendment 
authorizing congress to fix the western limits of those states 
claiming to the Mississippi or the South Sea. The amendment 
was rejected, and the protest remained unanswered. The 
State, however, did not submit. A declaration was adopted 
by the General Assembly setting forth their claims to a portion 
of the proceeds of these unsettled lands, and urging the other 
states to open their eyes to their true interests and put at 
rest at once this vexatious subject. Their delegates were in- 
structed to renew their proposition, to cause the declaration 
to be printed and forwarded to the different states, as well as 
laid before the members of congress, and to have it, together 
with their instructions entered at large upon the minutes of 
that body.* While thus protesting against any usurpation of 
their rights they pledged themselves to continue the struggle 
against the common enemy, and to do all in their power to 



* Votes and Proceedings, 
t Ibid. 

* Pitkin ; Votes and Proceedings. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 203 

bring it to a successful termination. In proof of their sincerity 
they at once took up the consideration of the treaties of aUi- 
ance, amity and commerce, made between France and the 
United States, and unanimously approved of them, as equal, 
honorable and wise ; and pledged themselves and the State of 
Maryland to be bound by these provisions and faithfully to 
fulfil them as good and true allies. 

As the spring advanced, although preparing for a retreat,- 
the British still continued to hold possession of Philadelphia, 
loath to retire from the capital of the States. The desire was 
entertained by many that an effort should be made to drive 
them out of the city. But the weakness of the American army 
and the backward state of the preparations for the campaign, 
rendered the attempt impossible, or at least exceedingly hazard- 
ous. None of the states except Maryland and New Jersey 
had yet filled up their quotas for the new battalions, although 
constantly urged by the commander-in-chief to comply with 
the requisitions of congress. At length, on the i8th of June, 
1778, the British army evacuated Philadelphia and crossed 
the Delaware. Washington was desirous of striking a blow 
upon their rear and called a council of war, which, however, 
opposed his design. Being supported by Lafayette he deter- 
mined to risk an action ; and, having taken up his line of 
march in pursuit of the enemy, he detached four thousand 
men under Lafayette in advance, with orders to attack, if a 
favorable occasion presented itself. Major General Lee, who 
in council had opposed a battle, being second in command, 
now claimed the right of leading this body, and was accord- 
ingly detached with two divisions to take charge of the whole 
force. The enemy had encamped at Monmouth Court House 
in a strong position. Washington determined to attack them 
the moment they began to retire from their positions and di- 
rected Lee to carry this design into execution.* 

Sir Henry Clinton, annoyed by the light parties which 
hovered about his flanks, under Maxwell, and suspecting a 
design upon his baggage train sent it forward on the morning 



* Sparks and Marshall. 



204 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of the 28th of June towards General Knyphausen, while with a 
strong body of his best troops, he descended into the plains 
to attack the advance of Lee's corps. The position of the 
American force was immediately in front of a morass, passable, 
only at a few points and was scarcely tenable. Retreat in 
case of defeat would be extremely difficult, while the advance 
of reinforcements to their assistance would be equally so. 
Lee, however, kept his ground, and the enemy opened a can- 
nonade upon Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Smith's battalion of 
the Maryland line which formed a part of General Scott's 
detachment. Mistaking the oblique movement of one of the 
American columns for a retreat and fearful of being left un- 
supported in this dangerous position, General Scott fell back 
and began to pass the ravine in his rear. Lee, doubting the 
propriety of engaging his foe on the ground he occupied, did 
not correct his error, but ordered the remainder of the troops 
to retire and regain the heights behind Monmouth. Wash- 
ington, at the first sound of the enemy's artillery, ordered his 
troops to cast aside their packs and to move on rapidly to the 
support of the advance. After a speedy march of five miles 
he came upon the front of Lee's detachment in full retreat 
before the enemy, without having made an effort to maintain 
their position. Informed that they had fallen back by the 
orders of their leader, and indignant that he had not been 
notified of a measure taken in defiance of his orders he rode 
to the rear and severely reprimanded Lee for his disobedience, 
The enemy were closely pressing upon the retreating troops, 
while the advance of the detachment was in danger of throwing 
the main army in confusion. The crisis required promptness 
of action. Lieutenant Colonel Ramsay's Maryland* battalion 



* The regiments of the first brigade, which had been without a leader 
since the resignation of Deborre, seem to have been detailed in the 
several detachments on this day. The divisions engaged were so com- 
pletely confused and mingled together by the carelessness of the retreat, 
that it is difficult to trace the several corps. The position given to the 
third and fourth Maryland regiments, (Lieutenant Colonel Ramsey's 
and Lieut. Col. Samuel Smith's) is ventured upon the testimony given 
in the proceedings of Lee's court-martial. — The Author. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 205 

and Colonel Stewart's regiment were in the rear. Seeing 
Ramsay, Washington called to him that he "was one of the 
officers he should rely upon to check the enemy that day," 
and addressing Stewart in the same manner, he ordered Wayne 
to form them, and directed Lee to reassemble his detachment 
and maintain that position against the enemy until he should 
bring up the main body. 

Their artillery now opened upon Ramsay and Stewart 
who were soon after sharply engaged with the infantry. The 
action was maintained gallantly, until overpowered by num- 
bers, they were compelled to fall back. Ramsay himself was 
wounded and taken prisoner. But their obstinate defence had 
griven time to the commander-in-chief to draw up the left wing 
and second line in their rear, on the right of which was sta- 
tioned Smallwood's second Maryland brigade. The right wing 
of the army under Greene early in the day had been thrown 
forward by a road to the right of that pursued by the main 
army and was already in advance of the scene of conflict. As 
soon as he was informed of the retreat of Lee and the present 
disposition of the forces Greene changed his route, and coming 
up, took an advantageous position on the right of the main 
body. 

Thus firmly resisted in front the enem^ endeavored to 
turn the left of the Americans. But they were met and re- 
pulsed by parties of infantry detached to meet them. They 
then assailed the right but without success ; and General Wayne 
with the regiments he had formed on the centre, was ordered 
to charge upon them in turn. He executed the command in 
gallant style, and after a sharp action the enemy were driven 
back. 

As soon as the scale of victory began to turn, Washington 
ordered up Patterson's division and Smallwood's brigade* 
to secure the day. The British were driven back to a strong 



* Captain Jacob of the 6th regiment, and therefore in the 2d brigade, 
under Smallwood, in his Life of Cresap, speaking of the actions of 
the Maryland line, says, " We had the pleasure of driving the enemy 
off the field at Monmouth." — The Author. 



2o6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

position, on the ground where they had received their first 
check from Stewart and Ramsay. Determined to follow up 
his advantage, Washington ordered the artillery to be brought 
against them and detached several bodies of troops to attack 
their flanks ; but before the arrangements could be completed, 
night came on. The troops slept upon their arms in order to 
renew the action in the morning ; but Sir Henry Clinton, tak- 
ing advantage of the darkness, drew off his army silently, and 
made good his retreat, with most of his wounded, to the heights 
of IMiddletown. The loss of the British was upwards of three 
hundred men slain, besides many wounded and a few prisoners ; 
that of the Americans was only sixty-nine killed. Fifty-nine 
British* and several American soldiers perished without a 
wound, from the extreme heat of the day. 

Sir Henry Clinton's loss on the field was increased in his 
march through New Jersey, by upwards of a hundred taken 
prisoners and more than six hundred deserters. After re- 
maining a few days on the heights of Middletown, he con- 
tinued his retreat towards New York, which he reached on 
the 5th of July. The American army now turned its line of 
march once more upon the Hudson, where it remained watch- 
ing the movements of Sir Henry Clinton, until the close of 
the campaign. 

In the meanwhile, Baylor's and Pulaski's corps, which 
were partly raised in Maryland, were stationed in New Jersey 
to protect the country from the inroads of the enemy. Both, 
however, were surprised at different times by parties of the 
British, and slaughtered with circumstances of excessive cru- 
elty. The remnants of Baylor's dragoons were afterwards 
incorporated in Lieut. Col. William Washington's light horse, 
which did such good service in the southern campaign. It 
was now found necessary to post a stronger force in New 
Jersey for the protection of that state during the winter, and 
towards the close of November the Maryland line, with several 
other divisions was marched to Middlebrook, where General 
Washington himself established his headquarters. The route 



* Holmes' Annals, vol. 2, p. 284. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 207 

from the Hudson was rendered difficult and painful by a heavy 
fail of snow, and the bad roads it occasioned ; and the troops 
suffered severely, whilst preparing the huts in which they were 
to pass the winter as they had done at Valley Forge. Yet the 
privations of the army were not equal to those of the pre- 
ceding season.* 

In February, 1779, the British landed a body of troops 
from Staten Island, with the design of taking Elizabethtown. 
Smallwood, with the Maryland line, and St. Clair, with the 
Pennsylvania division were immediately ordered to form a junc- 
tion at Scotch Plains, and reinforce General Maxwell who lay 
nearest the scene of action. The British, however, failed in 
their attempt ; and, having hurriedly retreated, the troops were 
recalled. The campaign of 1779, opened late and was rather 
remarkable for a series of manoeuvres than for any brilliant 
actions with the exception of the storming of Stoney Point by 
Wayne, in which affair Major John Steward of the Maryland 
line was honorably distinguished.f The moral effect produced 
by the presence of a powerful French fleet, ready to aid the 
American army against any point on the seaboard, seemed to 
paralyze the energy of the British leader; placed between two 
strong opponents he was compelled to remain inactive and on 
the defensive. The allies then determined to assume the of- 
fensive ; and the following July the army was concentrated 
at West Point, the headquarters of the commander in chief, 
for the purpose of cooperating with the French fleet in any 
design that might be attempted against the British in New 
York. The Maryland line formed its right wing. It was soon 
found impracticable to execute any combined movement against 
the city, and the idea was abandoned. $ 



* Sparks. 

t At the head of one hundred volunteers he fought his way into the 
fort with the bayonet, in front of the left column. A gold medal 
was presented by Congress to General Wayne, and silver medals 
to Major Steward and Colonel Fleury. The thanks of the Legisla- 
ture were also voted to Major Steward. — Proceedings of Congress 
and Maryland Legislature. — The Author. 

t Sparks. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



INTERNAL AFFAIRS. 

The withdrawal of the British troops from Philadelphia 
and the consequent removal of the scene of the campaign to 
a greater distance from their borders, gave the people of Mary- 
land a breathing time to recover from the constant drain of men, 
provisions and military supplies, which their vicinity had ren- 
dered necessary. During the campaign of 'yj^ besides the 
frequent drafts of militia for the protection of its own coast 
when the Chesapeake was filled by British cruisers, the State 
had furnished to the continental service two thousand and 
thirty regulars and fifteen hundred and thirty-five militia. 
While the invasion continued most of the people upon the bay 
shore were under arms and those of the interior in readiness 
to march to any threatened point. In the ensuing campaign, 
when the British fleet had withdrawn from the Maryland 
waters, and their army was still lying at Philadelphia, anxious 
to place a sufficient force in the hands of Washington, it fur- 
nished a body of three thousand three hundred and seven regu- 
lars. A quota one-third larger than that of any other State, 
except Delaware, according to the proportions fixed by con- 
gress. Its quota to the campaign of 1779 was twenty-eight 
hundred and forty nine continentals. Maryland was also looked 
to for its early wheat which it supplied to the army and which 
was also largely shipped to the north. To protect this coasting 
commerce, which was extrem.ely hazardous on account of the 
supremacy of the British fleet, and to guard the entrance of 
the bay from the small cruisers of the enemy and the galleys 
of the lawless tories the State was obliged to keep up a sepa- 

208 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 209 

rate marine of some force. It consisted of the ship Defence 
and several galleys, the Chester, Baltimore, Independence, Con- 
queror, and a number of others, of different tonnage, besides 
a sloop of war and four barges. The prize money arising 
from the captures made by these vessels was placed at the 
disposal of the governor and council for distribution among the 
victorious crews — an incentive to exertion, which percepibly 
increased their usefulness. In July, 1779, Commodore Grason, 
in the Chester, fell in with a hostile armed ship and schooner, 
which were endeavoring to make their way into the capes, 
and after a sharp conflict compelled them to stand out again 
to sea. 

The arrival of the French fleet, however, in considerable 
strength at a later period rendered it less important to main- 
tain this force, and the immediately pressing condition 
of the finances of the State caused the legislature in March, 
1779, to suspend the fitting out of additional galleys. The 
Annapolis, which was then getting ready, was laid aside, the 
State's surplus of powder sold, the ship Defence and the sev- 
eral galleys and boats, with the exception of two of the best 
galleys and one boat, were disposed of and the money paid into 
the treasury. At the same time the companies of matrosses, 
heretofore stationed at Baltimore and Annapolis, were ordered 
to proceed at once to the headquarters of General Washington, 
and report as portion of the State's quota for the campaign. 
But while engaged in carrying out these measures of economy 
the house of delegates re-opened the controversy of the last 
session, by a resolution providing for an increase of the pay 
of the members. They were in their position sustained upon 
strong grounds. The principal medium of currency had long 
since become a depreciated paper issued by the State and by 
congress. The exigencies of the moment could not be met by 
the proceeds of taxation, and bills of credit were constantly 
issued with the delusive hope that a favorable turn of affairs 
would bring about their speedy redemption. As these issues 
were enlarged their value fell far below that which they bore 
upon their face and as a matter of course continued to sink 



2IO HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

lower and lower at each new increase ; and this was rendered 
nominally larg^cr by its depreciation in current value. Every 
effort was made to support their credit, but in vain. Many of 
the State made the notes a legal tender in payment of debts. 
The legislature of Maryland, at the session of 1777 declared 
that the convention and State issues, as well as continental 
paper, should be received as legal tenders in payment of debts, 
at nominal value, but the courts decided that this only applied 
to the bills issued before the passage of the act. The continen- 
tal emissions had already increased to the enormous sum of 
two hundred millions of dollars, and had sunk so low in public 
confidence that they were rated at forty dollars in paper for 
one in silver. 

The nominal pay, therefore, of a delegate or senator, at 
twenty-five shillings a day, when reduced to specie value, was 
utterly insufficient to meet his expenses ; and the action of the 
house bore, on its very face, an argument which seemed irre- 
sistible. For a time the senate continued its opposition, but 
at length yielded ; and the amount of the pay was increased to 
three pounds current money (eight dollars) per day, for the 
session, and a like sum per day for itinerant charges. Charles 
Carroll of Carrollton was the only man who persevered in his 
opposition. He considered the resolve a dangerous precedent 
for future legislators, for it would take away from men in 
whom the desire of gain might overcome the dictates of duty 
and honesty, that dread of the people which alone could pre- 
vent them from enriching themselves with the spoils of their 
constituents. It was, besides, a measure calculated to exempt 
the lawgivers themselves from those very inconveniences which 
the people at large were enduring. These were reducing to 
destitution the gallant soldiers who were shedding their blood 
in the field, and rendering penniless the brave officers who 
sustained the honor of the State and defended its liberties, 
spending in the meanwhile their own fortunes to make up the 
deficiency of their pay caused by the depreciation.* It was a 



* Captain Jacob, in Cresap's Life, p. 18, says he was despatched by a 
party of officers of the Maryland line to Baltimore, to purchase cloth for 
coats ; after great difficulty he bought fifteen yards, for fifteen hundred 
pounds, which were made into ten regimental coats ! — The Author. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 211 

continuance, too, of that "private and selfish spirit which in- 
duced the passage of the law making bills of credit legal tender 
in payment of debts, unnecessary and impolitic at its commence- 
ment, injurious and oppressive in its continuance, and alike 
destructive of public and private faith." This spirited protest 
produced its effect upon the members of the senate, and when 
a few days later a second tender law to remedy the decisions 
of the courts by including in its provisions the issues made 
subsequent to the passage of the former law, was sent up 
from the lower house, it was rejected by a vote of five to three. 

The discussion of these questions led both houses to the 
consideration of a subject which had already occupied the 
attention of congress and the nation — the proper recompense 
and just provision for the officers of the army, who, it was 
everywhere admitted, were bearing the heaviest burdens of 
the war, with a pay which scarcely supplied them with the 
necessaries of life, and were, most of them, now so reduced 
in estate, as to be frequently dependent upon the gratuity of 
the State for the clothing they wore. Their condition at the 
close of the war began already to be looked to. When that 
happy event should arrive, it would be to them the forerunner 
of utter destitution. The army would of course be disbanded 
or much reduced, and these men, broken down by the hard 
service of the war, wasted in estate and no longer fitted for 
a business life, would be thrown on the world without support 
unless provision were made for them by the country in whose 
cause they had spent their best days. The matter was agitated 
in congress and several of the States desired that a half pay 
for life should be granted. But at length the opposing view 
prevailed, and it was determined to bestow upon them at the 
close of the war a gratuity equal to seven years full pay. 
This was afterwards reduced to five years pay. But the legis- 
lature of Maryland was actuated by a worthier sentiment. 
Those who had hitherto enjoyed the security won by the suf- 
ferings of the army did not permit any feelings of parsimony 
to interfere with its appropriate reward. 

The legislature, therefore, upon the determination of the 



212 HISTORY OF ^lARYLAND. 

question in congress immediately resolved that the officers of 
the Maryland line who should serve to the close of the war 
should be entitled to half pay during life, commencing after the 
expiration of the seven years pay voted by congress. They 
further extended this provision to the widows of such officers 
as would have been entitled to half pay during their widow- 
hood. 

To relieve for the present the wants of the officers and 
soldiers, the legislature ordered that each commissioned officer 
should be furnished annually, during the war, with a good . 
uniform and four shirts, besides a daily allowance of a variety 
of necessaries enumerated in the act, and the privates, rations 
of rum and tobacco equivalent to twenty pounds per year. 
In the several reorganizations of the line, disputes had ariseiv 
as to precedence. The Assembly now referred the whole mat- 
ter to Washington, requesting him to settle the rank of all 
officers in the Maryland line and separate corps, as he should 
deem most consistent with justice. He was also requested to 
incorporate the Maryland portion of the German battalion and 
the rifle regiment into one battalion, to appoint proper officers 
and enroll it in the line of the State. For the purpose of has- 
tening the recruiting service, the commander-in-chief was 
desired to detach suitable officers with active sergeants to 
enlist men in the State to fill its quota ; and the sum of two 
thousand dollars was immediately appropriated to meet the 
necessary expense. To each recruit, in addition to the bounty 
allowed by congress and the State, were presented a hat, shoes, 
stockings and overall. 

The divisions of party already began to make their appear- 
ance in the two houses. The legislature, in imposing taxes 
had directed a treble tax to be levied upon non- jurors, persons 
who had refused or neglected to take the oath of allegiance 
to the State. The ultra patriots, who were resolved to spare 
no means to crush the tories and support the army, insisted 
upon this measure, while the more moderate desired to release 
the non- jurors from the heavy burdens thus imposed upon them 
in addition to that of disfranchisement. Some of these non- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 213 

jurors were clergymen of the church of England, who besides 
other disabihties, had been prohibited from teaching or preach- 
ing the Gospel. Several acts had been introduced for their 
relief upon taking the oath,* but had always been rejected. 
A resolution for the general relief of non- jurors upon their 
taking the oaths was now proposed. It awakened the most 
violent opposition, and Samuel Chase, a distinguished member 
of the house of delegates, openly charged that there were tories 
in the two houses. He was summoned before the senate to 
make good his assertion, as far as it related to the members 
of that body. He appeared and, having objected to their au- 
thority to require his presence, proceeded, at the request of 
the senate, to make specific charges of disaffection and luke- 
warmness to the cause of liberty against several members of 
that body.f As two of the members implicated were absent 
the affair was referred to the July session of the senate, when, 
after thorough investigation, the allegations were unanimously 
declared unfounded. But the resolution in favor of non-jurors 
although it passed the house was rejected by the senate. Sub- 
sequently, however, a temporary relief was granted to them. 
During the preceding campaign a large number of the 
German troops in the service of the British had deserted, and 
some had found their way into Maryland. Many foreigners, 
attracted by service under the American flag, or to partake 
of the liberty which seeemd to be already established, had 
arrived in the country, and others were desirous of immigrat- 
ing if proper inducements were offered them. The legislature, 
conscious of the great accession of strength such persons would 
make to the State, passed a naturalization law by which all 
foreigners, upon taking the oath of allegiance to the State, 
were admitted to the rights of natural born citizens, save and 
except the privilege of holding civil office until after a resi- 
dence of seven years. The governor of the State was directed 
to cause this act to be printed and circulated in Great Britain 
and Ireland, and to be translated into German and distributed 



♦Votes and Proceedings, Senate, July, 1779, p. 
t Votes and Proceedings, March, 1779. 



214 HISTORY OF AIARYLAND. 

throughout the cities and towns of Holland, Germany and 
Switzerland. 

Thomas Johnson had now served three years as governor, 
having been twice re-elected without opposition ; the constitu- 
tional restriction rendered him no longer eligible. When the 
time arrived for a new election two candidates were proposed, 
Coloned Edward Lloyd and Thomas Sim Lee, Esq. On the 
8th of November, 1779, the election took place; a majority of 
votes of both houses being cast in favor of the latter gentle- 
man, he was duly proclaimed governor of the State. Desirous 
of testifying their high estimate of the public conduct and 
administration of the late governor, the two houses transmitted 
to him an address, which forms the best eulogy upon his char- 
acter and services during the critical period at which he pre- 
sided over the destinies of the new State, and upon his "pru- 
dence, assiduity, firmness and integrity," rendering him con- 
spicuous even among the galaxy of distinguished men who 
then gave luster to Maryland.* 

The effect of the depreciation of currency, in greatly rais- 
ing the prices of labor, produce, and all commodities called 
for some measures of relief, and a joint committee of both 
houses was appointed to consider the matter. They proposed 
that a convention of commissioners from the several States 
should be assembled at Philadelphia in the ensuing January 
to take measures for limiting prices to a certain standard 
throughout the country. They also advised that the governor 
should be empowered to seize provisions, wherever a surplus 
should be found, and suggested sharp measures against all 
persons who should buy up grain and produce for the purpose 
of speculating upon the distresses of the army. Three commis- 
sioners were accordingly appointed on the part of Maryland, 
with full powers to agree upon any united action in reference 
to this important subject, and to report the result of the confer- 
ence to the next General Assembly, should they deem it proper. 

Another question of great importance grew out of the 
deranged condition of the currency. The weight of the taxes 



* Votes and Proceedings. 



HISTORY OF xAIARYLAND. 215 

already imposed and the overwhelming debt which had been 
contracted filled the minds of the most ardent patriots with 
apprehensions. Congress at length awoke to the ruinous effect 
the excessive issues of paper without credit having only a com- 
pulsory circulation. They accordingly limited its amount to 
two hundred millions of dollars; and, determining to cancel 
as much as possible of this sum, called on the States for their 
respective shares of one hundred and thirty-five millions, to 
be paid in nine monthly instalments.* The quota of Maryland 
amounted to fourteen millions two hundred and twenty thou- 
sand dollars, making the monthly instalments, to be paid by 
the people, reach the sum of one million five hundred thou- 
sand dollars. The rate of taxation upon the assessment of 
property to raise this amount, exclusive of the tax of thirty 
shillings for the State, was twenty-seven pounds on every 
hundred pounds. But the frightful proportion diminishes when 
it is remembered that the valuation was made at the old specie 
or currency rate and the taxes were paid in the depreciated 
paper, then nearly forty to one. 

The leaders in the house of delegates, in casting about for 
some means to meet this heavy draught, resolved, in imitation 
of the example of other States, to confiscate the property of 
those who had adhered to the royal cause. It was deemed no 
justice to seize the estates of such persons, many of whom 
were wealthy, as the property of either open and notorious 
traitors, or of British subjects. A bill for that purpose was 
accordingly framed and passed by the house and sent to the 
senate. The November session was now drawing to a close; 
several of the members were absent, and the senate, consider- 
ing the question one of too great importance to be hastily dis- 
posed of and doubting the justice and expediency of the mat- 
ter, returned the bill to the house desiring it might lie over to 
March session of 1780, as they were not prepared to act finally 
upon it. But the house would admit of no delay, and despatched 
a delegation of sixteen members to make a strong remonstrance 
to the senate. They contended that the people were unable to 

* Pitkin. 



2i6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

raise more than nine millions by taxation at the rate of one 
million per month ; and that some extraordinary measure must 
at once be resorted to. The property of the refugees would 
sell for at least the balance of five millions ; this would give 
time for the taxes to be collected and paid in. Unless congress 
received the expected aid, a further emission would be neces- 
sary, and the condition of things rendered still worse. An 
ably conducted debate followed. The senate rejected the bill 
for the present, suggesting as a more appropriate source of 
revenue that congress should make foreign loans and pledge 
for their payment the western lands which were improperly 
claimed by certain States. Unable to agree both houses ad- 
journed over to the twenty-eighth of March. 1780. 

In the meanwhile the people heartily took up the subject 
of the confiscation of British property and, when the assembly 
re-opened its sessions numerous petitions were presented, urg- 
ing the adoption of the measure. The amount required to 
be paid had now increased to twenty-three millions, seven hun- 
dred thousand dollars, rendering the difficulty of raising it 
by taxation more evident. The States had failed to pay in their 
proportions and congress, as the house had predicted, was 
compelled largely to exceed the limit of two hundred millions, 
which it had assigned for the issue of paper money. To meet 
their quota the people of Maryland would have been obliged 
to pay a tax of one hundred pounds of paper for every hundred 
pounds worth of property. The house immediately passed 
another bill for the confiscation of British property, which the 
senate, after a renewed contest, again rejected. 

A scheme was then devised for calling in the old issues 
of continental paper by means of an issue of State paper, at 
the rate of one dollar of the new for thirty-three and a third 
of the old, and pledging the faith of the State for its redemp- 
tion. This measure met with a like fate. After a long session 
spent in fruitless attempts to effect a compromise, both houses 
adjourned to the seventh of June having ordered the disputed- 
bills and the messages concerning them to be printed and 
circulated throughout the State for the information of the 
people. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 217 

The bill for recalling the continental issues was at length 
agreed to in March and the old were redeemed at the rate of 
forty to one of the new. Few, however, were brought in ; 
and the laws making them currency being repealed, they soon 
altogether ceased to pass and quietly died in the hands of their 
holders. In this state of affairs it was impossible to place any 
value upon currency. So that, in fixing the governor's salary, 
the legislature was compelled to assign it to him in wheat at 
the rate of forty-five hundred bushels per year.* 

The March session passed without an effort to bring up 
the confiscation bill, and it laid dormant until October, when, 
after material modification, it was at length agreed to by both 
houses. That injustice might not be done, an opportunity was 
allowed the owners to come in and take the oath of allegiance 
to State, prior to the first of March, 1782. This provision was 
extended in an especial manner to ex-governor Sharpe, whose 
deportment as Proprietary governor of Maryland had won 
him the respect of the people. By another act the quit rents 
of the Proprietary were forever abolished.f 

Early in the revolutionary struggle Benjamin Franklin 
introduced into congress a plan for the confederation of the 
colonies which was discussed from time to time until the 
adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Then a more 
enlarged scheme of union became necessary, and a committee 
of one member from each State was appointed to draft articles 
of confederation. The dark and trying struggles which ensued 
compelled the postponement of the subject to April, 1777. 
Congress then resolved to devote two days in each week to 
its examination until a definite conclusion should be reached. 
On the 15th of November they were finally adopted and printed 
copies were sent to the legislature of each State for their con- 
sideration, accompanied by an address requesting them to 
authorize their delegates in congress on or before the loth 
of March, 1778, to subscribe the articles of confederation. 
In June, 1778, the delegates were called on for their instruc- 



*Votes and Proceedings, 
t Hanson's Laws. 



2i8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tions upon this subject from their States. New York, New 
Hampshire, Virginia and North CaroHna unconditionally 
adopted the plan. Amendments were proposed by the others, 
but all the States except Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey 
had instructed their delegates to agree even if they should fail 
to obtain the adoption of their propositions. 

Maryland was determined not to relinquish its claim to 
a portion of the public lands and its delegates, in pursuance 
of their instructions, proposed an amendment, authorizing 
congress to fix the boundaries of States claiming westward 
to the Mississippi or the South Sea. Upon this question the 
States were nearly equally divided ; Maryland, Delaware, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island were in its favor ; 
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, South Carolina and 
Georgia against, and New York undecided. The amendment 
was therefore rejected. In July the articles were formally 
signed by the delegates of all the States except Maryland, 
Delaware and New Jersey, who were urged by congress to 
give their immediate attention to it, as a subject of vital im- 
portance. New Jersey, in November, directed her representa- 
tives to accede to the confederation ; and Delaware followed 
her example in February, 1779. Maryland alone held out; 
and the legislature resolutely asserted their determination not 
to accede until their rights in the western lands should be 
secured. As these claims affected Virginia, and their instruc- 
tions to their delegates particularly pointed to that State, it 
called forth a strong remonstrance on her part, and the legis- 
lature of that commonwealth instructed their delegates in con- 
gress, to ratify the union with such other States as would 
join with them, declaring that it should be binding without the 
assent of Maryland, allowing the State however a certain time 
to unite with the confederacy. Connecticut adopted a similar 
course. But Maryland was no more moved by threats than 
it had been by remonstrances. As many of the States felt a 
strong interest in the success of its demands they refused to 
accede to the proposition of Virginia, and the confederacy 
remained unratified. New York led the way to a settlement of 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 219 

the difficulty and instructed its delegates in February, 1780, 
to limit the western boundary of the State and cede to congress 
their claims to lands beyond it, "to enure for the use and bene- 
fit of such of the United States as should become members of 
the Federal alliance of the said States and for no other use 
or purpose whatever."* This act, the instructions of Maryland 
and the remonstrance of Virginia were referred to a committee 
of congress, who reported a resolution calling on the several 
States to follow the generous example of New York, and thus 
effectually remove every obstacle in the way of a perfect union, 
and at the same time time requesting Maryland to accede to 
the confederacy. In order to give effect to its recommendation, 
congress afterwards pledged itself that the public lands should 
be held for the common benefit of the whole, and eventually- 
to be parcelled out into free and independent States. In com- 
pliance with this request Virginia, on the second of January, 
1781, determined by resolution to cede to the United States 
all her claims to lands northwest of the Ohio.f 

While Maryland had thus for two years persevered in 
holding aloof from the confederation, it had not for one mo- 
ment relaxed its efforts in the common cause. At the very time 
when it was thus contesting with Virginia its sons were fight- 
ing on the soil of that State for its defence. The Maryland, 
line and the Virginia regiments, side by side, bearing the brunt 
of the hard fought southern campaigns. But now the State 
stood triumphant ; every difficulty had melted away before its 
firmness and perseverence. On the second of February, I78i,$. 
the legislature authorized their delegates in congress to sign 
the articles in their behalf. This was done on the first day of 
March, and the union was thereby made complete. Thus was 
Maryland privileged to point the way to the creation of a 
great American Commonwealth. "This important event was 
on the same day publicly announced at Philadelphia, the seat 



*Pitkin, vol. 2, p. ;i3. 

tibid., p. 35, and also Burke, Hist. Virginia, vol. 4, p. 471. The final 

deed of cession was not made until 1784. 
t Votes and Proceedings, October session, 1780, p. 49. 



220 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of government, and immediately communicated to the execu- 
tives of the several States, to the American ministers in Europe, 
to the minister plenipotentiary of France, and to the com- 
mander-in-chief to be announced to the amiy under his com- 
mand."* 

By the articles of confederation each State preserved its 
separate and distinct sovereignty while the United States only 
possessed such authority as was specifically delegated to it. 
No State was to have less than three or more than seven dele- 
gates in congress, who were to be chosen annually and were 
only eligible three years out of six. The votes in congress 
were to be taken by States ; and it required a majority of States 
to carry a question, unless it related to peace or war, the army, 
navy, or the coinage of money, when it could only be passed 
by a vote of nine States. The articles could not be changed, 
altered or amended, except by the consent of all. The States 
were prohibited from making peace or war, laying imposts, 
which should interfere with those of the United States, and 
maintaining an army or navy in peace, without the consent of 
congress. Congress was authorized to make peace or war, 
raise fleets and armies, coin money, contract loans, and issue 
bills of credit ; and to appoint a committee of one from each 
State, called a committee of States, to sit as an executive 
committee during its own recess. The great error in the sys- 
tem, as was afterwards abundantly proved, was the want of 
sufficient federal authority, a defect which was at length rem-^ 
edied by the adoption of the present constitution ten years nj 
later. 



* Pitkin, V. 2, p. 36. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGNS. 

During the year 1779 the southern army had been par- 
ticularly unfortunate; Georgia and South Carolina were re- 
conquered by the enemy and North Carolina invaded. In this 
critical state of affairs it was resolved by congress that the 
Maryland and Delaware lines should be despatched to reinforce 
that department. In April, 1780, they were accordingly de- 
tached under the command of Major General De Kalb, and 
after marching through New Jersey and Pennsylvania, em- 
barked at the head of Elk river. The first brigade passed 
through the State on the 5th, the second on the nth of May. 
They numbered then about two thousand strong. They cheer- 
fully marched on to new fields of glory without pausing to 
receive the gratulations of friends, or to revisit those homes 
to which they might never more return. The south was calling 
for their aid, and these veterans of many fights were hastening 
thither to again cross their bayonets with British steel. To 
strengthen the southern force as much as possible, the legis- 
lature ordered that the three Maryland companies of artillery 
in the continental service should be formed into four with 
proper officers, and attached to Colonel Harrison's Virginia 
regiment. They also passed stringent measures to increase 
the number of the line by the enlistment or draught of fourteen 
hundred men, to which a thousand more were added in June. 
However, the actual number of recruits did not reach the 
amount called for. An additional regiment was raised, and 
placed under the command of Colonel Alexander L. Smith 
but after it had marched to the south, its officers were recalled 

221 



222 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and the men drafted into the old regiments. The legislature 
then published an able and stirring address to the people of 
IMaryland, calling on them to come forward at this trying 
time and reminding them of the outrages perpetrated by the 
British soldiery on their brethren in New Jersey, recounted the 
reverses which had befallen the American arms, the reduced 
condition of their forces in the south, the fall of Charlestown 
and the conquest of South Carolina, and urged them "to draw 
new resources and an increase of courage, even from defeats, 
and manifest to the world that they were then most to be 
dreaded when most depressed." 

The progress of the line was somewhat delayed by the 
difficulty of obtaining provisions ; but the news of their ap- 
proach preceded them and served at once to raise the spirits 
of the southern people. At Hillsborough, in North Carolina, 
they encamped until further preparations were made to facili- 
tate their march to the south, and to give time to the militia 
of Virginia and North Carolina, under Caswell and Stevens, 
to join them. On resuming their march they were overtaken 
at Deep river by General Gates, whom congress had desired 
to be appointed to the southern department. The conqueror 
of Saratoga was received with the greatest enthusiasm by the 
army of the south. The broken remains of the cavalry which 
had served through the preceding campaign had withdrawn 
to North Carolina to recruit, and their officers requested Gates 
to use his influence to fill their corps ; but this he refused to 
do, thinking Armand's horse, which he had with him, would 
be sufficient. He learned to regret his neglect. De Kalb had 
already selected a route for the army, somewhat circuitous, 
but through a fertile country, where provisions and supplies 
could be readily obtained. Gates, eager to reach the scene 
of action, fixed upon a more direct course, through a barren 
and exhausted district. The consequences to the troops were 
serious in the extreme. The men were compelled to live upon 
green corn and unripe fruit and suffering and deaths from this 
cause reduced the effective force. The horses, destitute of 
forage, were unable to support the forced marches, and the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 223 

army when it approached the enemy was unfit for immediate 
service. 

As Gates advanced towards Camden, Sumpter, Marion, 
and Pickens, three distinguished southern partizan leaders, 
rallying their scattered troops, made their appearance in the 
field. Lord Rawdon, who commanded at Camden, desirous 
of striking a blow before the Americans should concentrate 
their forces advanced to a strong post fifteen miles in front 
of that place, on Lynch's creek. But the American general, 
inclining to the right, and endangering his position, he fell 
back to Logtown, near Camden. Being desirous of opening 
his communication with Sumpter, Gates at once advanced to 
Rugely's Mills, and having learned from that leader that a 
British convoy of stores and provisions were on their way 
from Ninety-Six to Camden, immediately detached Lieutenant 
Colonel Woolford with four hundred men of the Maryland 
line, and two pieces of light artillery, to form a junction with 
Sumpter and attack the enemy's train.* 

Lord Cornwallis, being informed of the movements of the 
American General, immediately hastened to Camden and de- 
termined to seek battle before his enemy could secure increase 
of strength. He accordingly marched from that place by night, 
intending to surprise the Americans. By a singular coinci- 
dence Gates had set forward upon a similar design, and the 
advance parties of the opposing armies met at half past two 
o'clock in the morning a few miles from Saunder's creek. 
Armand's cavalry, the van of the American force, was soon 
driven in by the British guards under Lieutenant Colonel 
Webster; and the flight of the fugitives threw the leading 
Maryland regiment into some disorder. But the heavy fire 
of Porterfield's and Armstrong's infantry upon the flanks gave 
it time to rally, and the guards were driven back. 

As if by common consent both armies ceased their fire 
and drawing back awaited the dawning of day. Immediately 
the two hostile leaders began to form their lines of battle. 
The British troops, numbering about two thousand men, were 

* Lee's Memoirs. 



224 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

posted between two swamps, which protected their flanks and 
rendered the superior numbers of the Americans of little avail. 
The American left, resting on the morass, was composed en- 
tirely of Virginia militia under Stevens whose flight would 
leave the centre and right wing unprotected, and expose them 
to be taken in flank and rear. The North Carolina militia, 
under Caswell, formed the centre, and three regiments of the 
first Maryland brigade, under General Gist, with the Delaware 
regiment, formed the right, while the second Maryland brigade, 
under Smallwood, was stationed as a reserve three hundred 
yards in the rear of the line. Baron De Kalb commanded on 
the right and along the line of battle, while Gates retained the 
general superintendence of the whole to himself, and took post 
between the main body and the reserve. 

As the first streak of day broke in the east the artillery 
opened fire on both sides and the left under Stevens was or- 
dered to advance. To teach the Virginia militia to stand 
the fire of the enemy, Colonel Otho H. Williams, of Maryland, 
with a party of volunteers moved in their front against the 
British artillery to draw and sustain their fire, and General 
Stevens, after exhorting his men to use the bayonet freely, 
led them into action. Cornwallis threw forward his right un- 
der Webster with his veteran corps. The Virginia militia, 
scarcely waiting to deliver one fire broke ranks and throwing 
away their arms, fled in the utmost disorder. The North Caro- 
lina militia followed and Gates, Stevens and Caswell, in vain 
attempting to rally them, were borne from the field by the fly- 
ing mass of frightened men. One regiment of North Carolin- 
ians, under Dixon, an old continental ofificer, cheered by the 
firm bearing of the Marylanders, on whom they flanked, alone 
maintained their ground. 

At the same moment that the left wing broke, Cornwallis 
elated with success, ordered Rawdon to charge upon the right. 
But Gist's brigade stood immovable. For a while the terrific 
struggle seemed of doubtful issue. "Bold was the pressure 
of the foe," exclaims an eye-witness, "firm as a rock the re- 
sistance of Gist. Now the Marylanders were gaining ground." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 225 

The gallant Howard, at the head of WilHams' regiment, im- 
petuously broke upon the enemy and severing his front, drove 
the opposing corps before him ; and it seemed as if the lost 
battle was about to be retrieved even whilst the commander- 
in-chief was flying far from the scene of action. But the eagle- 
eyed Webster, the best and bravest officer after Cornwallis in 
the British army, upon the flight of the centre and left brought 
his veteran guards upon their flank. In a moment they were 
met by the second Maryland brigade, which Smallwood rapidly 
brought up to replace the fugitives and the battle was again 
renewed with undiminished spirit upon the left. 

Finding his flank once more protected and his Mary- 
landers bearing up with unflinching valor, the brave De Kalb, 
although outnumbered two to one, resolved to make one great 
and final eflfort with the bayonet. The charge was terrific. 
For a time the two lines seemed mingled with each other, 
clinging together and slaying with that terrible weapon. But 
at length the veteran troops of Cornwallis began to retire. 
At one point they were broken and thrown into disorder and 
many prisoners were taken. A single corps of cavalry would 
have retrieved the day, but Gates' folly had rendered victory 
impossible. The forward movement had again uncovered the 
left of Smallwood's brigade, and Webster immediately turned 
the light infantry and the twenty-third regiment upon his open 
flank. Smallwood, however, sustained himself with undimin- 
ished vigor ; but, borne down at last by superiority of force, 
was forced to retreat. Soon, however, his brigade forced back 
its assailants and regained the line of battle ; again it gave 
ground and again it rallied. The right under Gist and De Kalb 
continued to maintain its superiority. 

Cornwallis, alarmed at the unexpected resistance of the 
Maryland line, and having before experienced its desperate 
valor with the bayonet, now concentrated his whole force and 
brought it upon them. The inequality was too great to be 
resisted. The whole British army was poured upon these two 
devoted brigades, who still maintained their ground, although 



226 HISTORY OF .MARYLAND. 

only numberinj:^^ eight hundred men,* opposed to more than two 
thousand British regulars, and surrounded and unsupported, 
yet still fighting on with unflinching hearts. The cavalry were 
suddenly thrown in upon them, in front and rear, while they 
were still entangled with the infantry. The moment was crit- 
ical. De Kalb at the head of one regiment attempted to restore 
the line, but overpowered and falling covered with wounds 
was made prisoner. His life was saved by the generous De 
Buysson, his heroic aide-de-camp, who threw himself upon 
his fallen leader and received in his own body the bayonets 
aimed at his friend. Intermingled with the infantry, and 
trampled under foot and sabred by the dragoons, without 
space to rally, the ranks of brave troops were broken, and they 
were driven from the field by successive charges. "To the 
woods and swamps, after performing their duty valiantly, 
these gallant soldiers were compelled to fly. The pursuit was 
continued with keenness and none were saved but those who 
penetrated swamps which had been deemed impassable. The 
road was heaped with the dead and dying. Arms, artillery, 
horses and baggage were strewn in every direction." Brig- 
adier General Gist moved ofT with a body of one hundred men, 
still maintaining their ranks unbroken, through the swamp 
where the cavalry could not pursue them while Colonel How- 
ard effected his escape with a still smaller party.f 

The loss was severe. Four hundred North Carolina mi- 
litia were taken prisoners, and sixty killed and wounded, for 
a portion of them — the regiment under Dixon — had gallantly 
continued to maintain its ground on the left of the Maryland 
line. The Virginia militia, to the regret of all, escaped with 
only the loss of three men, wounded in the flight, and a few 
taken prisoners. The loss of the Maryland line and Delaware 
regiment was especially heavy ; three or four hundred killed 
and wounded and one hundred and seventy taken prisoners, 
most of the latter being of the wounded. The regiment of 



* It had been reduced by detachments made before the battle. — Burke's 

Hist, of Va., 4th vol., p. 400. 
t Marshall ; Lee's Memoirs ; Tarleton's Campaigns, etc. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 227 

Delaware was reduced to less than two companies, and having 
lost its field officers, Colonel Vaughn and Major Patton, was 
afterwards formed into one company under Captain Kirkwood. 

The brave De Kalb, though treated with every attention, 
survived but a few days. He spent his last moments in dic- 
tating a letter to General Smallwood, who now succeeded him 
in the command of the IMaryland line, "full of sincere and 
ardent affection for the officers and soldiers of his division, 
expressing his admiration of their late noble but unsuccessful 
stand, reciting the eulogies which their bravery had extorted 
from the enemy, together with the lively delight such testimony 
of their valor had excited in his own mind. In this endear- 
ing adieu, he comprehended Lieut. Col. Vaughn and the Del- 
aware regiment and the artillery belonging to his division, 
both of which corps had shared in the glory of that disastrous 
day. Feeling the approach of death he stretched out his quiv- 
ering hand to his friend De Buysson and breathed his last in 
benedictions on his faithful brave division."* His death was 
lamented in Maryland and his memory honored. The legis- 
lature, in testimony of their respect and gratitude passed an 
act granting the rights of citizenship to his descendants, a 
copy of which they directed the governor to transmit to the 
Baroness De Kalb, his wife.f Congress ordered a monument 
to him to be erected at Annapolis with an inscription com- 
memorative of his actions and glorious death. 

Gates, in the midst of his defeat, was cheered by the in- 
telligence that Sumpter and Woolford had succeeded in cap- 
turing the convoy of the enemy ; but the gratifying news was 
speedily followed by the announcement that Tarleton had, in 
turn, surprised and defeated them, killing or taking prisoners 
the larger portion of the infantry, and dispersing the cavalry. 
In these two actions the Maryland line suffered greatly in 
officers, besides its distinguished leader, De Kalb. 

Throughout this hard fought but disastrous day, Generals 
Smallwood and Gist conducted themselves with exemplary 



* Lee's Memoirs, p. 96. 

t Votes and Proceedings Assembly. 



228 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

skill and bravery and the thanks of congress were voted to 
them in a special manner. Lieut. Col. Williams, the adju- 
tant general, was everywhere in the heat of action, volun- 
teering to face every danger, although out of the line of 
his duty ; and Lieut. Col. Howard gave proofs of that "solid- 
ity of character," * that cool and daring courage which after- 
erwards distinguished him as one of the first and bravest 
of Alaryland's sons. Gates in vain endeavored to rally the 
flying militia. Could he have succeeded and brought them 
back to the aid of the line, the victory would have been re- 
trieved. He halted for a time at Charlotte to gather a portion 
of the remnants of that gallant army he had so lately led into 
the south, and then removed to Hillsborbugh, one hundred and 
eighty miles from Camd&n. 

Smallwood and Gist remained at Charlotte with about 
one hundred and fifty officers and men to rally their scattered 
soldiers. Colonel Williams, with a brigade major, was de- 
tached towards the scene of the battle to bring up all the 
stragglers he could find, and to obtain information of the 
enemy. Major Anderson, of the 3d Maryland regiment, had 
succeeded in rallying a portion of his corps not far from the 
field ; and now, learning the point of rendezvous, proceeded 
to Salisbury by slow marches, to give time to the dispersed 
soldiers to join their colors. By these cool and skilful meas- 
ures Smallwood succeeded in ten days in collecting upwards of 
seven hundred non-commissioned officers and privates besides 
the larger portion of his commissioned officers, which number 
was fortunately increased by the recapture of one hundred and 
fifty continental prisoners taken at Camden, made by the inde- 
fatigable Marion, on their way under escort to Charleston. 

Cornwallis, crippled by the desperate resistance of the 
Maryland line, the Delaware regiment and Dixon's North 
Carolina militia on the i6th of August, was unable to follow 
up his advantages without further reinforcements. His strength 



* General Gist was promoted on the 19th of January, 1779, to a briga- 
diership, and Smallwood, after the death of DeKalb, was made 
major general on the i5fh September, 1780. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 229 

was subsequently weakened by the capture of Colonel Fergu- 
son, at King's Mountain, and an advantage which Sumpter 
obtained over Tarleton. The army, therefore, remained un- 
disturbed at Hillsborough and the commander employed the 
time in reorganizing the several corps. 

In compliance with General Washington's directions, the 
seven Maryland regiments of the old line were merged into 
one, to be known as the first Maryland, and Colonel Otho H. 
Williams given command. The supernumerary officers, under 
General Gist, for whom there was now no longer any com- 
mand in the broken conditions of the army, were ordered back 
to Maryland to take charge of the recruiting stations and to 
form two new regiments, as rapidly as possible.* The numbers 
of the new battalions were fixed by the commander-in-chief 
at five hundred and four men, and the legislature of the State 
at once set about raising recruits to fill them up.f The militia 
of the State were again divided into classes, each class being 
compelled to furnish within five days one soldier, either free 
or a slave,$ and thus not a few negroes served throughout 
the war, not only in the Maryland, but in the lines of other 
States, with faithfulness and courage. 

General Smallwood was retained in the army as second 
in command ; and was detached to the Yadkin to take charge 
of the militia gathering in that quarter. The Virginia levies 
soon after joined Gates, increasing his force to about fourteen 
hundred continentals, which was further strengthened by a 
corps of volunteer cavalry and two divisions of North Carolina 
militia. He now moved to Charlotte, and Smallwood was 
advanced from the Yadkin to the Catawba, while Morgan was 
thrown forward with a light corps. In the meanwhile con- 
gress, dissatisfied with the conduct of Gates, requested General 
Washington to supercede him, and General Green was at once 
despatched to the south to take the command. The only re- 

* Lee's Memoirs. 

t Sparks 

t Hanson's Laws. 



230 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

inforcement which could be spared him from the northern 
army was Lee's legion composed of three companies of infan- 
try and three of cavalry, numbering about three hundred and 
fifty men. On his way the new commander passed through 
Delaware and Maryland, which had been annexed by congress 
to the southern department, to urge the forwarding of rein- 
forcements. In Maryland he was informed that General Gist 
was indefatigably engaged in raising the new levies, a work 
which, in spite of every effort on the part of the State, owing to 
the exhausted condition of the people, proceeded slowly. He 
held a long conference with the governor and council, and 
having made his final arrangements hastened to join his army 
at Charlotte, in North Carolina, where he arrived on the 2d of 
December. He immediately commenced a series of active and 
energetic movements. Smallwood's detachment was drawn 
into the main army, while a chosen body of troops was placed 
under the command of Morgan to operate on the western 
quarter. It consisted of four hundred men of the Maryland 
line under Lieut. Col. Howard, two companies of Virginia 
militia, mostly discharged continentals, under Captains Trip- 
lett and Taite and Lieutenant Colonel Washingron's dragoons, 
one hundred in number. When Morgan reached Broad river 
he was joined by several parties of militia. He took post near 
the confluence of Broad and Pacolet rivers. 

Cornwallis had ordered from the north a reinforcement 
of fifteen hundred men under General Leslie, who was now 
approaching to unite with him. Learning of the movements 
of the American forces he suspected a design against Ninety- 
Six, and determined to strike a blow at Morgan, before he 
could be joined by the hardy mountaineers of the west. Ac- 
cordingly he detached Lieut. Col. Tarleton with his legion 
and other forces, amounting to about one thousand men, to 
pursue him ; whilst he himself put the main body in motion 
to cut off his retreat if he should escape that active officer. 
As Tarleton approached Morgan retreated. So rapid was the 
pursuit that the British columns passed through the ground 
of the American camp only a few hours after it had been 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 231 

abandoned. Leaving his baggage behind him with a guard, 
Tarleton hurried forward during the night and on the morning 
of the 17th of January, 1781, came in sight of the Americans 
encamped at the Cowpens. 

Morgan, accustomed to win battles had retreated with 
reluctance, although a retrograde movement was rendered 
necessary by the advance of Cornwallis on lines parallel to 
his route. He had gained sufficient time to risk an action 
and having been joined on the evening of the i6th by General 
Pickens with a body of five hundred militia he determined to 
await the coming of the enemy. The ground was open and 
favorable to Tarleton, whose cavalry outnumbered that of 
Morgan three to one ; and, fearful lest the American general 
would again retreat, that energetic officer immediately formed 
his wearied troops into line and advanced to assail him. 

Morgan arranged his men with consummate skill. The 
Marylanders with Triplett's and Taite's companies of Virginia 
militia, all old soldiers, composed his main and second line 
under the command of Colonel Howard, and were posted upon 
an eminence covered with open wood with Washington's cav- 
alry in their rear as a reserve. The first line consisted entirely 
of militia, under General Pickens ; while a short distance in 
their front two parties of North Carolina and Georgia militia 
were stationed as skirmishers. As the enemy began to advance \ 
Morgan addressed his soldiers briefly but energetically. He 
directed the militia to deliver but two or three volleys and 
then to retire and form behind the main line. The Mary- 
landers he reminded of their past glory and "of the confidence 
he had always reposed in their skill and courage, and assured 
them that victory was certain if they acted well their part."* 
Then taking his post he awaited the advance of the enemy. 

Tarleton moved rapidly to the assault. The skirmishing 
parties of militia delivered their fire, and falling back, formed 
on the flank of Pickens' men. The British pressed on with 
loud shouts upon the first line, which, however, maintained 
an undismayed front and poured in a close and destructive fire. 



* Lee's Memoirs, p. 131. 



232 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

But the enemy continued to advance with the bayonet and the 
militia being armed mostly with rifles, retired in haste. A por- 
tion with Pickens formed on the right of Howard, while the 
rest fled to their horses in the rear of the line. Believing vic- 
tor}' to be already in their grasp, the enemy in pursuit of the 
flying militia charged upon the continentals. They were met 
with unshaken firmness. The conflict became desperate ; for 
a time neither the assailants nor the assailed seemed to give 
ground. But the unconquerable spirit of the Marylanders 
at length prevailed and the enemy began to falter. Tarleton 
ordered up his reserve, and his line, thus reanimated, again 
advanced, extending its front so as to endanger Howard's 
right. That officer instantly ordered his flank company to 
change its front, but mistaking the command, it fell back ; 
upon which the line commenced to retire. Morgan at once 
directed it to retreat towards the cavalry, and to assume a new 
position. This manoeuvre which was executed with coolness 
and precision, eflfectually relieved the menaced flank. 

The British, mistaking the movement for one of flight, 
rushed forward with great impetuosity and in disorder to 
complete their triumph. Perceiving their mistake, Howard, 
not yet having reached the position marked out by Morgan, 
suddenly faced about and poured in upon the astonished enemy 
a close and murderous fire. Their front ranks recoiled under 
the shock. Seizing the happy moment, Howard, cheering on 
his men, broke in upon them with the bayonet. The charge 
was terrible and decisive and the day was won. Dearly was the 
slaughter of Camden avenged. The whole British infantry 
was killed or taken. One hundred, including ten officers, 
were killed upon the field and twenty-three officers and five 
hundred privates taken in the flight. Almost at the same in- 
stant that Howard was winning this brilliant victory over 
largely superior forces. Colonel Washington was routing the 
cavalry of Tarleton. This sanguinary corps had pursued the 
retreating militia to their horses and ruthlessly begun to sabre 
them when Washington charged upon and drove them before 
him. With the remains of his cavalry Tarleton fled from the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 233 

field, closely pursued by Washington, who at one time, in the 
eagerness of pursuit, advanced more than thirty yards beyond 
his regiment. Tarleton turned upon him, seconded by two 
of his officers. The officer on the right aimed a blow at Wash- 
ington which was intercepted by his Orderly Sergeant, Ever- 
heart,* who disabled his sword arm. The officer on the left, 
at the same moment aiming a blow at him, was wounded by a 
pistol bullet fired by a servant boy. The blow of the third — 
Tarleton himself — Washington parried with his sword, leav- 
ing his mark upon the British leader's hand for life. Reining 
back his horse in rage Tarleton discharged a pistol at him, 
wounding him in the knee, and continued his flight. His artil- 
lery, eight hundred muskets, two standards, thirty-five bag- 
gage wagons, and one hundred dragoon horses fell into the 
hands of the victors, whose loss amounted to about seventy 
men, only twelve of whom were killed. 

Never was there a more complete or more glorious vic- 
tory. The force of Morgan did not much exceed eight hundred 
men, half of whom only were regulars, and eighty cavalry, 
while that of Tarleton reached a thousand, including three 
hundred and fifty cavalry. These were all chosen men, the 
very sinews of Cornwallis' army. This splendid force was 
entirely annihilated. Although the militia did good service, 
"the weight of the battle," says one who served in the cam- 
paign with great distinction, "fell upon Howard who sustained 
himself admirably in those trying circumstances, and seized 
with decision the critical moment to complete with the bayonet 
the advantage gained by his fire." Yet he won the battle with- 
out orders ; so that after he had swept the field by his glorious 



* Of Frederick County, Md., — he had served throughout the whole 
revolutionary war, and was well known in western Maryland long after 
its close. Subsequently visiting Frederick, Colonel Washington sent 
for Everheart, then residing in Middletown in charge of a congregation, 
and the two old men met and embraced, with tears in their eyes, recur- 
ring to the eventful scenes they had passed through together. Everheart 
died in 1839, aged 74 years, and was buried with every testimony of 
respect and afifection, and with the honors of war. — Sketch of the Life 
of Everheart, by L. P. W. B. ; South. Lit. M. — The Author. 



234 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

charge Morgan rode up to him and said severely, "You have 
done well, for you are successful ; had you failed I would have 
shot you." At one moment Howard held in his hands the 
swords of seven British officers who had surrendered to him. 
Congress awarded Howard and Washington silver medals, 
Morgan a gold medal, Pickens and Triplett swords.* 

Cornwallis, having been joined by General Leslie and find- 
ing himself still superior to Greene, who was unable to profit 
by Morgan's splendid victory, took the bold resolution of burn- 
ing his baggage, converting his army into light troops and pur- 
suing the Americans into North Carolina. Morgan hastened 
to rejoin the main army, and by forced marches crossed the 
Catawba before his pursuers could reach its banks. The Brit- 
ish van appeared in sight just as he had made good his passage, 
and a heavy rain coming up, the waters suddenly raised so as to 
become no longer fordable. The freshet continued for two 
days and gave the Americans time to dispose of their prisoners, 
call in their detachments and make every preparation for re- 
treat. On the third day the British forced a passage with some 
loss and pursued the retreating army with great rapidity. As 
soon as Morgan had crossed the Yadkin its waters also became 
swollen and impassable from the rains and the British were 
again delayed. Cornwallis, despairing of striking the light 
troops before their junction with Greene, determined to cut 
that general off from the fords on the Dan and force him into 
action. 

The British army numbered twenty-seven hundred men ; 
that of Greene twenty-three hundred, of which five hundred 
were militia, and two hundred and seventy cavalry including 
Lee's corps, then in fine condition and mounted on fresh horses 
purchased in Maryland, and far superior in quality to those 
of the enemy. Unwilling to risk an action until reinforced 
from Virginia the American leader determined to retreat 
towards Guilford Court House, and despatched Colonel Car- 
rington, aided by Captain Smith of the Maryland line, to collect 
boats for the passage of the Dan, when the army should reach 



*Lee, p. 134; Marshall. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 235 

it. To harass the march of his enterprising enemy he formed 
a light corps of his best infantry under Howard, Washington's 
cavalry, and Lee's legion, with a few militia riflemen, amount- 
ing in all to seven hundred men ; the command of which he 
offered to Morgan. But that gallant officer was suffering se- 
verely from rheumatism and was about to leave the service. 
The command was then tendered to Colonel Williams. "This 
accomplished gentleman and experienced soldier accepted it 
with cheerfulness and yet becoming diffidence,"* and fulfilled 
the duties of his charge with honor and ability. 

On the tenth of February Greene began his retreat from 
Guilford ; and Williams, with his corps inclined towards the 
left, threw himself in front of the advance of Cornwallis. 
Now began a series of masterly manoeuvres, of rapid marches, 
and severe duty. Cornwallis, finding a strong corps of horse 
and foot in his front and uncertain of the object of his enemy, 
immediately checked the rapidity of his march. Williams 
selected a route lying between that of Greene, which was on 
his right or to the east, and Cornwallis on his left or to the west, 
both armies moving north. The enemy, having condensed his 
force, renewed the rapidity of his march, and the rear-guard 
of the light corps under Lee was constantly in sight of the van 
of the British under O'Hara. In the night Williams increased 
his distance to prevent a surprise. The duty, sufficiently se- 
vere during the day, then became painful and trying in the 
extreme. The necessity of maintaining extensive pickets and 
numerous patrols, kept half the corps constantly in active 
service. Each officer and man was allowed by six hours sleep 
in forty-eight, and sufficient time was afforded them for only 
one hasty meal a day. At three o'clock in the morning they 
broke up their bivouac and marched rapidly forward to secure 
time for their hurried repast ; and sometimes they were even 
deprived of this by the sudden appearance of the enemy. At 
night, when the halting ground was reached, worn down with 
fatigue, the officers and men cast themselves upon the earth, 
forgetting hunger in the overpowering weariness which op- 



* Lee's Memoirs. 



236 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

pressed them after forty-eight hours of ceaseless toil and 
watching.* 

On the morning of the thirteenth, Cornvvallis changed his 
route towards Dix's ford and fell into the rear of Williams. 
The pursuit was continued with increased activity as the two 
armies approached nearer the Dan. Greene was now in the 
vicinity of that river and Williams suddenly changed his route 
to the road on his right which had been already traversed by 
the main army, keeping his corps together ready for a prompt 
blow against the enemy if any occasion presented itself. The 
distance between the van and the rear of the two armies began 
to diminish. More than once were the legion of Lee and the 
advance of O'Hara Avithin musket shot of each other ; and 
the militia riflemen were with difficulty restrained from picking 
ofif the pursuers. Both parties, however, maintained a pacific 
demeanor and seemed like portions of the same army vieing 
with each other in rapidity and skilfulness of manoeuvre. But 
that seeming holiday parading was full of interest to the whole 
south. Had Williams' corps been involved with the advance, 
the strength of the southern army might have been destroyed, 
and Greene, shattered and no longer covered by his light troops, 
would have fallen an easy victory to Cornwallis. The burden, 
therefore, of the retreat fell upon Williams, and gallantly did 
he bear it. Never, perhaps, was there made so ably conducted 
a retreat, considering the difficult nature of the country, con- 
ducted with so little loss, — scarcely a single man was killed or 
captured. This is the more remarkable as the retreat was 
effected in the face of an active, energetic and superior enemy 
whose van for days was constantly in sight of the retiring rear. 

But its termination was at length approaching. On the 
fourteenth Williams was informed that Greene had safely 
crossed the Dan the day before ; and, leaving Lee's legion 
on his former route to amuse the enemy, had struck rapidly 
towards Boyd's Ferry. His men had been cheered up and 
inspired by the glad tidings of the safety of that army for 
which they had endured such unequalled privations and fa- 



* Lee's Memoirs. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 237 

tigues. The enemy were still close upon his rear but the light 
corps crossed without interruption, and were followed by the 
legion infantry. At nine o'clock the cavalry reached the banks 
of the river and were safely crossed in the boats which were 
gathered on the northern shore by the carefulness of Carring- 
ton and Smith. 

Thus closed this remarkable retreat, unparalleled through- 
out the war for the consummate skill of the leaders and the 
patient endurance of the soldiers of both armies. From South 
Carolina to Virginia, through a country thickly settled with 
hostile tories, in want of provisions and clothing, with only 
a blanket to every four men, even without shoes, the gallant 
army of Greene maintained its order in its rapid route, sus- 
taining no loss and experiencing no confusion. It reached its 
destination in safety in spite of every exertion of a superior 
force under the ablest general the British service could boast. 
From the time of its formation the light corps of Williams 
never slept under a tent until it crossed the Dan. By the light 
of their watch-fires one-half of these brave fellows, wrapped 
in their blankets, cast themselves down to their brief repose 
upon the damp earth while the rest stood guard or were sta- 
tioned as patrols. 

Cornwallis, baffled in his pursuit, rested his army on the 
banks of the Dan and having selected Hillsborough as his 
headquarters, returned thither by easy marches. In the mean- 
while Greene earnestly set about gathering reinforcements. 
He was soon joined by a brigade of Virginia militia ; the sec- 
ond Maryland regiment, just raised, was already on its way 
to his camp and two new regiments of the Virginia line were 
preparing to march to his assistance. Fearful lest Cornwallis 
should be enabled to arm the tories of North Carolina he de- 
termined to recross the Dan, harass the enemy, and give coun- 
tenance to the patriots of that State. 

On the 1 8th of February, Lee's legion, reinforced by two 
veteran companies of the Maryland regiment under Captain 
Oldham and Pickens' South Carolina militia, crossed the Dan, 
with orders to gain the front of Cornwallis and repress the 



238 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

loyalists. They fell upon Colonel Pyle with four hundred 
tories, who were hastening to the British army, and who mis- 
taking Lee for Tarleton, permitted him to draw up his men 
along their line. Discovering their mistake as he was in the 
act of passing on to surprise Tarleton they opened their fire 
upon him. The legion and infantry immediately attacked them 
killing about ninety and wounding and dispersing the survivors. 
Greene soon after advanced into North Carolina and again 
detached Williams with a light corps to distract the attention 
of the enemy. By a series of brilliant manceuvres, accompanied 
with several sharp skirmishes, he completely repressed the 
rising of the royalists and prevented Cornwallis from filling 
up his ranks with the disaffected young men of the country. 
In a few days he was joined by the new levies from Virginia 
under Colonel Green, another brigade of militia from the same 
State under Lawson, and a body of North Carolina militia. 
The second Maryland regiment soon arrived in camp ; his 
whole force then amounted to forty-five hundred men, of whom 
about sixteen hundred were continentals. He now determined 
to risk a battle for the recovery of the south. Accordingly, 
on the 15th of March, 1781, he awaited the approach of his 
enemy at Guilford Court House. 

The American army was drawn out in three lines upon the 
face of a hill at the foot of which ran a small rivulet. On the 
road within close shot of this stream Captain Singleton was 
stationed with two six pounders ; on his left, across the road, 
the North Carolina militia under Butler and Eaton were mar- 
shalled. The second line, drawn up in a deep wood a short 
distance in the rear, was composed of the Virginia militia 
under Stevens and Lawson. The third line consisted of the 
four regiments of continentals, and was displayed on the right 
of the road. The Virginia regiments held its right, under 
General Huger. The first Maryland under Colonel Gunby, 
and the second under Lieut. Col. Ford, formed the left, under 
Colonel Williams. Gunby's was the only veteran regiment ; 
the remaining three were entirely new levies with few excep- 
tions, scarcely broken to camp duties. The officers, however, 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 239 

were able and experienced. The right flank was covered by 
Washington's cavalry, Kirkwood's Delawares, and Lynch's 
Virginia militia ; the left by Lee's legion and Campbell's Vir- 
ginia riflemen. 

As the enemy approached, Singleton's pieces opened upon 
them ; his fire was returned by the royal artillery, and the can- 
nonade continued while Cornwallis arrayed his army for battle. 
He formed in but one line — the seventy-first and the regiment 
of Bose on the right, under Leslie, the twenty-third and thirty- 
third regiments on the left, under Webster, and the light 
infantry and yagers in the centre. The first battalion of 
guards, under Lieut. Col. Norton, supported the right, and 
the second battalion and grenadiers under O'Hara, the left. 
The British crossed the rivulet and deployed into line at a quick 
step, and advanced upon Greene's first position. The Ameri- 
cans began to fire at long range, but Leslie pressed on firmly, 
and at the first discharge the North Carolina militia were 
seized with a panic and fled in the utmost disorder, Lee and 
Campbell still continued to maintain their position. The Vir- 
ginia militia under Stevens stood their ground gallantly. That 
officer, stung with the recollection of the inglorious flight at 
Camden, had placed sentinels in their rear with orders to shoot 
down every man that faltered or turned back. They sustained 
their position with courage and firmness, and it was not until 
the supporting columns of the enemy had been brought up, 
that they were driven off the ground at the point of the 
bayonet. 

Webster now approached the third line. He was met 
by Gunby and Howard of the first regiment, and with his 
usual impetuosity he hurried into close fire, but so firmly was 
he received by this body of veterans that he was compelled to 
retire, and wait for the rest of the line. The first battalion of 
guards now made its appearance in front of the second Mary- 
land regiment, and Williams charmed with the gallantry of 
the first, hastened to cheer up the second by his presence. But 
to his astonishment and dismay the regiment broke and fled in 
disorder. Gunby, perceiving their discomfiture, immediately 



240 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

turned upon the guards as they were pursuing the fugitives 
and an animated struggle ensued between them. Webster 
was at this moment engaged with Hawes' Virginia regiment 
and Kirkwood's Delawares, and Gunby charged up the hill 
with the bayonet upon the guards under Stewart. His horse 
was shot under him, and the command fell upon Colonel How- 
ard, who with his characteristic impetuosity led forward the 
regiment with such rapidity that Gunby could not again over- 
take it. Washington's cavalry at this critical period fell upon 
the guards and disordered their ranks, while Howard was 
rushing upon them with the bayonet. Like a torrent the old 
Maryland regiment broke through their ranks, driving them 
headlong from the field with terrific slaughter, their leader 
falling under the sword of Captain Smith. The remains of 
that splendid corps were only saved from utter annihilation 
by a desperate expedient of Cornwallis. Determined to arrest 
the progress of Washington and Howard he brought up his 
artillery and opened upon them, although every discharge 
swept through the flying guards, slaying alike pursuers and 
pursued. The remedy was efifectual, and Howard assumed 
the position formerly occupied by the second regiment under 
Ford ; but, seeing several columns of the enemy crossing 
to his rear whilst he was hotly engaged in front, and finding 
most of the troops withdrawn, he began to retire, carrying off 
his prisoners with him. Lee's legion and the riflemen had 
continued to maintain their position with undaunted valor. 

Greene, finding the fortune of the day turned against him 
by the flight of the North Carolina militia and the second 
Maryland regiment, and Lee's corps severed from the army, 
conceived it prudent to provide for a retreat. The remaining 
troops were accordingly recalled. They retired in good order, 
covered by Green's Virginia continentals who had not been 
engaged. So costly had been the barren victory of Cornwallis 
that he found himself upon the field of battle utterly unable to 
pursue his defeated antagonist. The American loss in con- 
tinental troops was fourteen officers and three hundred and 
twelve privates, of whom five officers and fifty-two privates 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 241 

were killed the remainder being wounded or missin-.- while 
of 'he ™ ma seventeen officers and seventy-seven privat 
were k,lled and wounded. The Marvland brigade lost ofrt s 

rTka^/fit kf;' T ^"''^"""' '"° -^^e!nts Ind ee en 
rank a ,' fit w nd;d aVdtf "' °"^ "'^'^^"' '"' «''^'^-^- 
fifers, and eigh"'t r"a k ^ 1,"^ tZTl '"' 
hundred and fifty-four officers and ^en l^on: 1 T" 
was Alaior Anderson, a valuable office? of thf"„e^ Tht BrT 

ki ,e?rd r T', °V^'"' °* "'^ -™>- ■■ ™«y-'h- w re" 
killed, and four hundred and thirty-nine wounded <;„M 

h.s crippled condition, that after burvi^V "3 dead he , l v' 
.""erttrh '"'''-''' °' ^eingi'rlut^ n'y 

l"^s tr:s7ora 'T ""' " ^"- "--rd^rred 

i-ees corps to harass h.s retreat, while he himself after nh 

B^rcor;:r'' °' ^"™"""'°"' "^-"^'^ "p 'he ^a^n :„ : 

■Dtit L^ornwallis, conscious of his nrp^pnf „.«oi -^ 

anxious to avoid an action, and rd^h^res^ptr^^rrir 
and thence to Wilmington which was strongly securedMe 

p.: s':^ ^f '°° ''t " ""* *'" Xce"r„doner h: 

at Rats^^l'!:^™^^'"^ -' """^^' P^™'"^'' -^^ -"^ 'o -pose 
The American general determined at length to pass hv 
h.s antagonist and penetrate to South Carolina where Lord 
Rawdon was now in command, with the expectation nf n 
mg together the scattered partizan leaders, LTredeTmJt at' 

m Le7 f "'"* *':'i°"- A--d-?lv, on the 6th of Ap„ 
178 , Lee s legion, with Oldham's detachment of veteran Mrrt 
anders was ordered in advance to form a junction wthMlf 
.on, „h, e Sumpter and Pickens were notified bv clurie" to 

nl ,'"■.""'"' '"" '° J°'" *' ™ain body at Camdel 
On the 7.h the army began its march for that post Cornwal is' 

Whether to follow his antagonist south or by strikinc- int„ 
Virginia compel him to retrace his steps for th'e protttl^ rf 



242 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

that State. At length he resolved upon the latter course. 

Greene's army had been reduced by the detachment of 
Lee's legion from eighteen hundred continentals to fifteen 
hundred ; but confidently expecting to find Sumpter in force 
to join him, he hastened his march towards Camden, fearful 
lest Cornwallis might retrace his steps to the south and form 
a junction with Rawdon. To his surprise, on approaching 
Camden, he learned that Sumpter had neglected to come in 
with his men ; and disappointed in this expected reinforcement, 
he was unable to invest that post, although its garrison had 
been diminished by a detachment of five hundred men under 
Colonel Watson, thrown out to attack Marion, and now closely 
watched by that active officer with his partizans and Lee's 
corps. Greene, therefore, contented himself with sitting down 
on the north of Camden at Hobkirk's Hill to await his rein- 
forcements. Lord Rawdon, informed of the condition of his 
army, and aware that every delay would increase its strength 
and diminish his own, resolved at once to risk a battle. On 
the morning of the 25th of April he marched out from Camdea 
at the head of nine hundred men to seek his enemy. 

The army of Greene was encamped upon a ridge covered 
with wood, affording facilities for a surprise to an active of^- 
cer like Rawdon. When the British van fell upon the Ameri- 
can pickets — the first notice of its approach — the troops were 
engaged in cooking their rations and washing their clothes 
along the rivulets which traversed the hill side. Captains 
Benson of Maryland and Morgan of Virginia, who commanded 
the outposts, offered a gallant resistance, and being supported 
by Kirkwood's Delawares, made good their position until the 
army was drawn up. The Virginia brigade under General 
Huger was stationed on the right, the Maryland brigade under 
Colonel Williams, aided by Gunby, Ford and Howard, held the 
left. The artillery was placed in the centre, and Washington's 
corps of cavalry and two hundred and fifty North Carolina 
miUtia were held in reserve. 

As the British appeared in presence of his line, Greene 
perceived their narrowness of front and ordered his centre 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 243 

regiments to advance with fixed bayonets while Washington's 
cavalry fell upon their rear. The fire on both sides was hotly 
kept up, but Rawdon, extending his front, protected his flank, 
although Washington was furiously assailing his rear. Hawes' 
Virginia regiment and Gunby's Maryland, still somewhat in 
disorder from its rapid formation, were now ordered to 
charge with the bayonet, when the right flank company of 
Gunby's regiment joined in the fire contrary to orders. It 
spread along the regiment, a part of which became confused. 
Unfortunately, Gunby ordered its right to fall back and form 
at the very moment when Captain Armstrong with two sections 
was charging upon the enemy. The movement was fatal. 
As the flank company retired, its leader, Captain Beatty, was 
killed and his men became unable to form ; the confusion 
spread, and the whole regiment began to fall back. Seizing 
this favorable moment, the British line pressed forward with 
loud cheers, and the veterans of the first regiment, seized with 
panic, broke and fled. In vain Williams and Gunby attempted 
to rally them. In vain Howard, "who had so often and so 
gloriously, with this very regiment, borne down all opposition, 
appealed to their patriotism, the recollection of their past glory, 
the shame of present disgrace."* Worn by previous sufiferings, 
emaciated from scarcity of food and brought suddenly to a 
charge when only half formed, these brave men seemed to 
forget the laurels which they had already won. When at length . 
they rallied it was too late to retrieve the day. 

The second Maryland regiment had resolutely maintained 
its ground from the commencement of the action but being 
left uncovered by the retreat of the first, became somewhat 
deranged. Lieut. Col. Ford received a mortal wound whilst 
gallantly endeavoring to re-form them, and they too began 
to retire. The first Virginia had already fallen back, and 
Greene, ever cautious to preserve his army, ordered the troops 
to retreat, covered by the unbroken regiment of Hawes. The 
loss of both armies was about equal; that of the American 
was two hundred and sixty-six killed, wounded and miss- 

* Lee's Memoirs ; G. W. Greene's Life of General Greene, p. 247 ; John- 
son's Life of Greene, pp. 32, 85. 



244 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

promising ofificer in the army, was among the slain, and Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Ford died shortly after the battle from the ef- 
fects of his wounds. 

Greene, mortified at a defeat caused by the defection of 
a favored and trusted regiment, crossed the waters above Cam- 
den and assumed a strong position, so as to cut off Rawdon 
from his supplies. But the British general having received a 
reinforcement again advanced to attack the Americans. Greene, 
however, had assumed another position which was too strong 
to be assailed. Fearing lest his communications with Charles- 
ton should be cut off, the English general prepared to aban- 
don the upper country, and sent orders to Cruger to retire 
from Ninety-Six to Augusta, and Maxwell to fall back upon 
Orangeburgh. 

The American army was now busily occupied in besieging 
the different strongholds he had left behind him. One by one 
they fell into its hands, until in the space of a month after 
Greene's entry into South Carolina the British general, in spite 
of his victory, held possession only of Charleston and Ninety- 
Six. This latter post Greene now hastened to invest. It was 
defended by Lieut. Col. Cruger with five hundred men and 
strongly fortified. After some time spent in making the ap- 
proaches the garrison was summoned but refused to surrender. 

At the same time Lee and Pickens invested Colonel Brown 
at fort Cornwallis near xA.ugusta. On the night of the 28th 
the enemy made a sally to destroy the American works, and 
drove the guard before them. But Captain Oldham of the 
Maryland line coming up with his support, after an obstinate 
conflict regained the trenches and forced the enemy back to 
his works. Frequent sorties were made, and at length the 
Americans erected a tower of wood which enabled their rifle- 
men to overlook and command the British works. Oldham's 
infantry were posted to protect the tower from the attempts 
of the enemy. In the night Colonel Brown made a fierce sortie 
to destroy it, and fell upon the rear of Picken's militia. Old- 
ing ; that of the enemy, two hundred and fifty-eight. Captain 
Beatty of the Maryland line, than whom there was no more 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 245 

ham leaving one company to guard the tower, hastened to 
relieve the militia, whom Brown was forcing from the trenches. 
A severe and bloody conflict ensued, but at length the Mary- 
landers carried the victory at the point of the bayonet. Being 
now completely cut off, and his defences commanded by the 
riflemen, Brown surrendered, and Lee hastened to join the 
besieging army before Ninety-Six. 

Learning that Lord Rawdon was rapidly approaching at 
the head of two thousand men to relieve Ninety-Six, Greene 
determined to attempt it by assault. Lieut. Col. Campbell, 
of the Virginia brigade, with the first Maryland, under Cap- 
tain Benson,* and first Virginia regiments, was entrusted 
with the attack upon the left ; Lee's legion and Kirkwood's 
Delawares, upon the right. Lieutenants Duval of Maryland 
and Seldon of Virginia commanded the forlorn hope of the 
left ; Rudolph, of the legion, on the right. The height of the 
walls had been increased by bags of sand, and parties were 
armed with hooks to pull them down, while others carried 
fascines to fill up the ditches. At the signal both divisions 
rushed to the assault. The storming parties sprang fearlessly 
into the ditch and assailed the walls which were defended with 
bayonets and long pikes, while the riflemen kept up a deadly 
and continuous fire from behind the sand bags. For three- 
quarters of an hour, in the face of this terrible discharge, the 
assailants struggled in vain to drag down the sand bags and 
mount the defences. A heavy cannonade was then opened on 
their flank, and a sally of the enemy made into the ditch with 
the bayonet, dispersed the bookmen. Duval and Seldon, after 
an obstinate resistance, having had nearly all their men killed 
or wounded, were driven back, and Greene recalled his troops 
from the assault. On the other side, Rudolph forced his way 
into the fort and Lee was about to follow when he was with- 
drawn by his commander. The loss of the American forces 
during the siege amounted to one hundred and eighty-five 
killed and wounded, among whom were Captain Armstrong 



* Greene's Memoirs, p. 440. 



246 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of the first Maryland regiment killed and Captain Benson 
wounded ; that of the enemy was eighty-five. 

Greene, anxious to avoid the stronger force of Rawdon, 
abandoned the siege and retreated towards Charlotte in North 
Carolina. Rawdon after relieving Ninety-Six, set out in pur- 
suit of the Americans, but finding his efforts to overtake them 
useless, returned to that post which he determined to abandon. 
Greene immediately retraced his steps, waiting for a favorable 
opportunity to strike a blow against his active enemy. Find- 
ing the lower country destitute of provisions, his troops being 
compelled to live upon rice, which was suited to neither the 
Virginians nor Marylanders, who were often times driven by 
hunger to resort to the flesh of frogs and even alligators,* 
he retired again to the healthier regions in the northern part 
of the State to pass the hot summer months. 

On the 2 1st of August he broke up his encampment ana 
hastened to the south to seek the enemy, now under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Colonel Stewart, Lord Rawdon having 
returned to England. He overtook them at the Eutaw Springs. 
The American army had been increased by reinforcements 
to twenty-three hundred men, of whom nearly sixteen hundred 
were continentals. Stewart's force was about equal to that 
of Greene. On the morning of the 8th of September, 1781, 
at four o'clock, the American army was put in motion ; its 
advance soon fell in with a party of foragers, who were entirely 
cut off. A second detachment met with the same fate, and 
Stewart was informed by the flying fugitives of the approach of 
his antagonist. He immediately drew out his army to receive 
him. Greene advanced in two lines — the militia in front, the 
continentals in the rear. The North Carolina brigade of con- 
tinentals was stationed upon the right under General Sumner, 
the Virginia brigade under Lieut. Col. Campbell, in the centre, 
and the Maryland brigade under Colonel Williams, seconded 
by Lieut. Col. Howard on the left. 

The militia advanced with spirit and opened a heavy fire 
upon the enemy, which was soon briskly returned ; but they 



* Greene's Memoirs. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 247 

continued to maintain their ground until the British troops 
pressed close upon them. Sumner's North Carolina brigade 
was immediately ordered up to cover their retreat and check 
the advance of the enemy. This corps, consisting of newly 
raised regiments never before in action, pushed forward in 
good style and the conflict became warmer. Greene now 
brought up the Maryland and Virginia lines, which advanced 
with a shout and poured in a destructive fire upon the enemy. 
Stewart finding the dense line of his antagonist pressing hard 
upon him called up his reserve. Sumner's North Carolinians, 
unable to maintain their position, began to fall back, when 
Greene ordered the Marylanders and Virginians to withhold 
their fire and charge with the bayonet. At trailed arms, cheer- 
ing vehemently, these two gallant brigades, led on by Williams, 
Howard and Campbell, rushed upon the enemy, heedless of the 
close and terrible fire which was repeatedly poured in upon them 
as they advanced at a rapid pace. The shock was terrible. How- 
ard's regiment was received by the Buflfs, an Irish corps which 
had just joined the army, and here the fiercest struggle ensued. 
Neither would yield ; but crossing bayonets, their ranks min- 
gled, the men in opposing files sinking to the earth each pierced 
with the bayonet of his antagonist. Thus they were found, 
grappled in death and transfixed together upon the field of 
slain, marking the spot where the Marylanders and Buffs had 
met in deadly conflict. The officers fought hand to hand. 
So bloody a strife could not continue long ; the rest of the 
British line had given way, scarcely waiting for the approach 
of the Americans, and the gallant Buffs unable to maintain the 
conflict with the veteran Marylanders, broke and fled. De- 
lighted with the conduct of this regiment Greene rode up and 
complimented it and its commander in the midst of the action. 
The victors followed up their advantage and pressed the 
fugitives rapidly before them through their camp, which fell 
into their hands. A party of the enemy under Major Sheridan 
threw themselves into a large brick house near the scene of 
action, and maintained a destructive fire upon the pursuers ; 
while Majoribanks seized a strong position on the right, sus- 



248 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tained by Coffin. This gave time to Stewart to re-form his 
line. In the meantime, Howard at the head of Oldham's com- 
pany continued the pursuit between the house and the head of 
a ravine, where a portion of the enemy had posted themselves, 
and recommenced the action ; but receiving a severe wound, he 
was compelled to withdraw from the field. The position which 
the British now held was almost unassailable, and after a vain 
effort to batter down the house and to force their lines, Greene 
determined to recall his men from the action, satisfied that he 
had won all the honors as well as the benefits of victory. 

In the pursuit, three hundred British prisoners were taken, 
with two pieces of cannon, one of which was captured by 
Lieutenant Duvall of the Maryland line, a young officer of 
the highest promise, who was afterwards killed during the 
action. The battle lasted three hours and was hotly contested ; 
more than one-fifth of the British and one-fourth of the Ameri- 
can army were killed or wounded. Greene's loss was stated 
at one hundred and thirty-seven killed and four hundred and 
eighteen wounded, of whom sixty fell into the hands of the 
enemy. Nearly sixty commissioned officers were killed or 
wounded, seventeen being killed upon the spot and four others 
dying of their wounds. The British lost about five hundred 
killed and wounded and as many taken prisoners, making a 
total of one thousand men. 

Greene attributed his glorious success to the free use ot 
the bayonet made by the Maryland and Virginia troops, in 
their rapid charge in the face of a murderous fire of artillery 
and musketry.* The thanks of congress were voted to each 
of the corps engaged, and to General Greene was accorded a 
gold medal. The results of the battle were at once appreciated. 

Destroying his stores and more than a thousand stand of 
arms, and leaving his wounded behind him. Colonel Stewart 
hastily retreated on the evening of the ninth; and having 
formed a junction with a corps advancing to reinforce him, 
took post at Monk's Corner, one day's march from Charleston. 



* Greene's letter, in Memoirs ; Lee's Memoirs ; Marshall, etc. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 249 

Greene endeavored to overtake him before he reached that 
place, but faiHng to do so, returned to his camp at the Eutaw 
Spring's. 

The great number of his wounded, as well as the increased 
sickness which the hard service of the last few days had pro- 
duced, determined the American leader to retire to his favorite 
camp on the high hills of the Santee to recruit his wearied 
troops. After the fall of Cornwallis he again descended to 
the lower country, forced General Leslie, who had succeeded 
to the command of the southern army, to withdraw into 
Charleston, and blockaded him there ; having redeemed North 
Carolina and nearly the whole of South Carolina from the 
British sway. The spirit of the enemy was broken, and although 
many skilful manoeuvres and several partizan contests ensued, 
British supremacy in the south may be said to have terminated 
with the battle of Eutaw, overturned in great part by the 
bayonets of Maryland. Governor Rutledge of South Carolina, 
thinking the time had come for the reestablishment of the 
state government, convened the Assembly at Jacksonborough. 
Further reinforcements, composed of the Maryland, Pennsyl- 
vania and Virginia troops who had been engaged at the siege 
of Yorktown, were now received from the northern army, 
under General St. Clair ; and General Wayne, who accom- 
panied them, was despatched into Georgia, which he soon freed 
from the presence of the enemy. General Gist, who had re- 
turned to the south, was placed at the head of the light corps, 
and Greene continued to hem Leslie in Charleston, until that 
general announced his determination to evacuate it, which 
he did peacefully, with the consent of his antagonist, on the 
fourteenth of December, 1781.* 

While the Maryland line was thus gloriously occupied 
in the south, its native State seemed for a time threatened with 
invasion. Arnold, the traitor, had been detached to Virginia 
at the head of an active body of British troops and had com- 
mitted great ravages in spite of the militia who assembled to 
oppose him. Cornwallis, when Greene after the battle of Guil- 



Marshall ; Lee's Memoirs ; Tarleton's Campaigns. 



250 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ford passed into South Carolina, hastened into Virginia, and 
forming a junction with the forces there took the whole com- 
mand upon himself. The Marquis De La Fayette was dis- 
patched by the commander-in-chief to Virginia with a small 
force to make head against the enemy. 

He passed through IVIaryland on his way and w^as hos- 
pitably received by the merchants of Baltimore. Being invited 
to a ball he was there remarked to be grave and sad. On 
being questioned by the ladies as to the cause of his gloom 
he replied that he could not enjoy the gaiety of the scene whilst 
his poor soldiers were without shirts and destitute of the neces- 
saries of a campaign. "We will supply them !" exclaimed these 
patriotic women. The pleasures of the ball room were ex-^ 
changed for the needle and on the next day they assembled 
in great numbers to make up clothing for the soldiers out of 
materials provided by their fathers and husbands. The dis- 
tresses of his corps were relieved and blessing the kind hearts 
and fair hands of the ladies of Baltimore, it hastened to take 
its share in the severe campaign in Virginia. 

The legislature, fearful lest the invasion, open as the bay 
was, might be extended to the State, caused a select body of 
twelve thousand militia to be organized, and held out induce- 
ments for the formation of a corps of volunteer cavalry in 
each county. The glory of the southern battles won by their 
brethren had re-awakened the spirit of the people of Mary- 
land and these measures were effectually and promptly carried 
out. The third regiment of continentals was speedily com- 
pleted and despatched to the south while the formation of the 
fourth was accelerated. Provision was made for the defence 
of the bay and several severe actions took place with the strag- 
gling cruisers of the enemy. The fourth regiment under Major 
Alexander Roxburgh, when raised to its complement of six 
hundred rank and file, on the 7th of September was ordered 
to join La Fayette in Virginia. 

Washington, having formed the design of destroying Corn- 
wallis, was now anxious to concentrate as strong a force as 
possible in that quarter ; while the French fleet seized the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 251 . 

mouth of the bay to cut off the retreat of the enemy. On the 
eighth, Washington and his suite passed through Baltimore 
where he was received with demonstrations of the greatest 
respect. An address was presented to him on behalf of the 
people and the city was illuminated. In a few days the com- 
mander-in-chief was followed by strong bodies of the northern 
army ; and then commenced those masterly movements which 
resulted in the surrender of Cornwallis with his whole force 
of seven thousand men, prisoners of war, at Yorktown, on the 
19th of October, 1781, an event which marked the close of 
the revolution. In this hard-contested siege a portion of the 
Maryland troops was engaged maintaining the honor of the 
State and the fame of the old Maryland line. 

The event was hailed with universal joy. The legislature 
of Maryland was in session when Washington reached Anna- 
polis on his way to rejoin the northern army. To honor his 
arrival they passed a vote of thanks and appointed a committee 
to deliver him an address on their behalf. A splendid enter- 
tainment was provided, and during the two days which he 
tarried there the venerable city, crowded to overflowing with 
happy spectators, presented one constant scene of enthusiastic 
rejoicing. She had the proud honor of first "saluting him as 
the PATRIOT, the hero, and the saviour of his country." 
Maryland had been the first to propose him for the arduous 
and responsible station which was to result in the freedom and 
the glory of the new republic, and entitle him to the admiration 
of posterity. It was meet and just that Maryland should first 
tender him the gratitude of his country and bestow upon him 
those titles which were to render his fame universal and never 
dying. The sons of Maryland had often stood foremost in 
his lines of battle ; they were now the foremost to offer him 
the proud ovation of a republican triumph.* 



* Votes and Proceedings. 



CHAPTER XV. 



THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION. 

The legislature had made every effort to prepare for the 
campaign of 1781, and conscious of the impossibility of meet- 
ing the necessary expenses by means of the usual paper money, 
resolved to have recourse to the patriotism of the wealthier 
citizens. Accordingly it was determined to issue two hundred 
thousand pounds in bills of credit, for the payment of which 
double their value of the confiscated lands of the disaffected 
and British subjects was pledged ; and to give additional sup- 
port to this new issue, an "association and subscription" were 
offered for the signatures of the patriotic merchants and plant- 
ers of the State, but the first of which they agreed to receive 
these notes at their par value, and by the second to take at once, 
for the purpose of circulation, as much as was set opposite 
to their names. 

The security pledged for the redemption of these bills 
of credit was ample. The amount of the confiscated property 
was large, and but a small portion had yet been sold by the 
commissioners appointed for that purpose. In addition to this, 
the "association and subscription" were extensively circulated. 
Public meetings were held in the different counties and the 
pledges were almost universally taken. For a time the scheme 
was successful, but such was the want of confidence in paper 
money no matter how issued or in what manner secured, that 

252 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 253 

in three months these bills had depreciated to less than half 
their nominal value.* 

The State, while menaced with invasion by Cornwallis, 
was also threatened with domestic insurrection, which for a 
time excited extensive alarm. The fortunate discovery and. 
prompt punishment of the conspirators, however, allayed the . 
excitement and effectually discouraged similar attempts. At 
the opening of the campaign of 1781 the enemy formed the- 
design of invading the western frontier from Canada. General 
Johnston with a body of British troops was to strike at Fort 
Pitt, while Colonel Connolly, already once baffled in his de- 
signs in Maryland, was to proceed secretly to the interior,, 
enlist the friends of the crown and assemble a tory force to co- 
operate with him.f It is probable that the preliminary ar- 
rangements with the western tories were made through the 
agency of the British officers of the convention troops, then 
prisoners at Frederick. Large numbers had already been en- 
rolled in that county and in the neighboring states, when the 
conspiracy was discovered at Frederick. Tradition relates 
that a disguised British officer was to meet a messenger of 
the traitors at a designated place, to deliver into his hands 
papers containing every intimation concerning its progress. 
The vigilance of the patriots deterred the officer from attend- 
ing at the appointed place and the papers fell into the hands 
of an American officer, who by a singular coincidence was at 
that moment standing where the tory messenger expected to 
find his correspondent. The plot and the names of the leaders 
were thus at once disclosed. The leaders were arrested and 
sufficient evidence obtained to insure their conviction. On the 
25th of July they were brought to trial before a commission 
presided over by Judge Hanson, found guilty and sentenced 
to be hanged, drawn and quartered. Seven of their number 
were executed in the courthouse yard of Frederick.^ They 



* Hanson's Laws, 1781, ch. 23, note. 
t Marshall. 

$ Votes and Proceedings, Senate, November 24th, 1781 ; manuscript 
copy of Judge Hanson's sentence. 



254 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

persisted to the last that they were only guilty of doing their 
duty as lawful subjects of the king of England and that their 
judges and executioners were more truly deserving of the 
name of rebels and traitors. 

After the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, the Brit- 
ish government reluctantly abandoned the idea of conquer- 
ing the United States and only sought to detach them from 
their alliance with France. Accordingly, early in 1782 Sir 
Guy Carleton was despatched to New York with power to 
make peace or war "with the revolted colonies." As soon as 
his arrival had been announced, it was unanimously resolved 
by the legislature of Maryland that "though peace with Great 
Britain and all the world was an object truly desirable, war 
with all its calamities was preferable to national dishonor. 
That this State could never consent to treat with Great Britain 
except upon the footing of an equal, and would never enter 
into any treaty with that power which would sully its own 
honor or violate its obligations to France, its great and good 
ally." 

At the same time to display still further their affection 
for the French people, on the announcement to the two houses 
by the governor of the birth of the Dauphin of France, they 
resolved that his excellency should be requested to appoint by 
proclamation a day of celebration of that auspicious event, 
testifying their wishes that the young prince might prove a 
blessing to the nation by following the example of his illus- 
trious father ; and that he might continue to preserve their 
affections by perpetuating that happiness which they had ex- 
perienced from an alliance with a prince and people whose 
great and good qualities had long since excited their admiration 
and gratitude.* 

The bay shores were still infested by armed gallies and 
barges manned by tories and refugees who plundered the un- 
protected farmhouses and carried off and sometimes murdered 
the inhabitants. The French fleet, although still lying at 
Yorktown, could not effectually put a stop to these outrages. 



* Votes and Proceedings, Senate. 



PIISTORY OF MARYLAND. 255 

for the light draught of their boats enabled the perpetrators 
to escape where pursuit was impossible. The legislature de- 
termined to reestablish its State marine and ordered four barges 
to be equipped and armed with eight pieces of cannon and 
manned with two hundred and fifty men, and despatched a 
member of their body to Virginia to obtain the cooperation of 
that State in an expedition to clear the bay. The French com- 
mander was also solicited to detail an armed brig and sloop 
to cover the lighter galleys. Monsieur Villebrun, then on that 
station, readily afforded the desired aid. The commerce of 
the bay was soon relieved and the inhabitants protected by 
these effectual measures.* 

Tired of the struggle, England determined to end the con- 
test, which had dwindled down to a little more than the pos- 
session of the city of New York and petty marauding expedi- 
tions upon the coast. A provisional treaty was concluded on 
the third of February, 1783, though actual hostilities had 
ceased a considerable time before. No State came out of the 
contest with a better record than Maryland. She had always 
responded with her quotas to calls for additional troops and 
she had been equally prompt in her liberal appropriations of 
money to the common cause. She had furnished all-told 
twenty-three thousand men, which was one-twelfth of the 
whole number of men enlisted- in the American army, and 
had spent seven million, six hundred thousand dollars, which 
was two-thirds of the total value of her real estate. Her loss 
in population from all causes during the struggle had amounted 
to sixty-six thousand. In proportion to their number, no body 
of men suffered severer losses than did the Maryland line, 
whose achievements have inured to the lasting glory of the 
State. They were the first to use the bayonet against the 
experienced regulars of the enemy. This was in their earliest 
battle and throughout the succeeding engagements they were 
often called upon to lead the charge with the same weapon. 
In the battle of Long Island a fragment of a battalion shook 



* Votes and Proceedings, Senate. 

* Gambril. 



256 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

with repeated charges a whole brigade of British regulars. 
At White Plains they held the advancing columns at bay ; 
at Harlem Heights they drove the enemy from the ground ; 
at Germantown with fixed bayonets they swept through the 
hostile camp far in advance of the body of the army ; at Cow- 
pens and at Eutaw they bore down all opposition with unloaded 
muskets ; at Guilford and at Camden, though they met defeat, 
they fought with their accustomed courage and won the ad- 
miration and elicited the surprise of the enemy. Everywhere 
they used the bayonet with terrible effect. The two battalions 
with which they entered into the war became reduced to a single 
company ; again it was swelled to seven regiments, to be again 
thinned to one. Before the campaign had well passed they 
were once more recruited to four full battalions of more than 
two thousand men. 

At least two of their colonels, Williams and Howard, 
were considered the best officers of their grade in the army ; 
while Gunby, Hall, Smith. Stone, Ramsey and Ford were equal 
to any in the continental service. Although they were entitled 
to a major-general and two brigadier generals from their own 
State, they submitted for a long time to be led by strangers. 
But upon the death of the brave De Kalb, Smallwood was 
promoted to the command of his division and Gist, who was 
followed by Williams, to that of the two brigades. Now 
that the war was over, the remnants of the old line and the 
new regiments, having already upon the scene of their south- 
ern exploits been presented, through General Greene, with the 
thanks of both houses of the legislature for their gallantry 
and good conduct, turned their footsteps towards their native 
state. The remnant of the Maryland line, upon arriving in 
Baltimore July 27, 1783, from Annapolis, to which place they 
had come a few days before on transports from South Caro- 
lina, were received with an enthusiasm which testified to the 
satisfaction which the people of that town felt in their splendid 
achievements. The Treaty of Paris, which was signed on 
September 3, 1783, marked the official close of a strife whose 
responsibilities Maryland had met with honor. Although de- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 257 

pleted in men and resources, she bore with equal credit the 
obHgations which the war entailed. 

When about to separate, the officers of the army, anxious 
to constitute some binding link of brotherhood by which to 
remember their long service together, determined at the sug- 
gestion of General Knox to form a society, to be called in honor 
of the Roman patriot the "Society of the Cincinnati." After 
making some preliminary arrangements, on the 13th of May, 
1783, at the cantonments on the Hudson a meeting of the 
general and field officers and of delegates of line officers from 
each regiment was held and the principles of the association 
agreed upon. They proposed as their object the preservation 
of the liberties for which they had fought and bled, the main- 
tenance of the union of the states and the continuance of the 
friendly relations and good offices which should be cherished 
between companions in arms and sharers of the long and peril- 
ous struggle. Their views partook of the highest order of 
benevolence and prompted them to provide assistance to their 
needy brethren or to their widows and orphans. For this pur- 
pose a fund was established, to which each officer upon his 
admission to the society was required to contribute the amount 
of one months' pay. Admission to the society was limited 
to those who had fought in the Revolution and to their descend- 
ants, except that civilians might be elected to honorary mem- 
bership. A branch society was to be formed in each State 
and the general association composed of five delegates from 
each of the subordinate societies was to meet at Philadelphia 
at intervals not exceeding three years. General Washington 
was chosen as first president. He immediately wrote to the 
principal officer in each state advising the formation of a 
state society.* 

In compliance with this request, the officers of the Mary- 
land line assembled at Annapolis on the 21st of November, 
1783 ; Gen, Otho H. Williams was placed in the chair and 
Lieut. Col. John Eccleston was made secretary. A permanent 
organization was effected by the election of Major-General 



Sparks, 9-22 ; Marshall, 5-30. 



258 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Smallwood as president of the society ; Brigadier-General 
Gist, vice-president ; Brigadier-General Williams, secretary ; 
Colonel Ramsay, treasurer and Lieutenant-Colonel Eccleston, 
assistant treasurer. Annapolis was selected as the place of 
their annual meetings. 

The society, notwithstanding its patriotic inception and 
principles, excited the distrust and jealousy of the people, who 
feared that it might lead to the establishment of an order of 
nobility. By the advice of Washington, the objectionable 
features of its constitution, especially that of establishing her- 
editary right of membership, were altered and the hostility 
excited against it thereupon subsided. 

With the close of the war, a permanent seat for the na- 
tional government became an interesting object of inquiry. 
The people of Maryland felt that the central position of their 
state gave it especial claim upon the honor. The corporation 
of Annapolis addressed a memorial to the legislature at the 
April session, 1783, offering their city to the general govern- 
ment. The two houses in consequence directed a proposition 
to be made to Congress, tendering' to that body, in case it 
should remove the seat of government to Annapolis, the use 
of the statehouse for its sessions. They also offered the public 
square, the governor's house as a residence for the president 
of the body, thirteen dwelling houses to be erected at the ex- 
pense of the State for the accommodation of the delegates 
from the thirteen States of the Union and complete jurisdiction 
over the people of Annapolis. Congress was affected by sev- 
eral of the reasons set forth in the memorial and resolutions, 
but, while it determined to fix the seat of government in Mary- 
land, deemed it prudent to select some place other than that 
already occupied by the state capital. However, they accepted 
for the present the accommodations tendered them by the state 
and adjourned from Princeton to Annapolis. The legislature 
welcomed them with great cordiality and gave up one of their 
halls for their use. The Governor, William Paca, surrendered 
the government house to their president. The legislature fur- 
ther pledged themselves to take suitable measures for their per- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 259 

manent establishment as soon as the site of the new federal 
city and its boundaries should be marked out. 

General Washington had already notified the several states 
pi his intention to resign his commission and retire to private 
life. He now hastened to Annapolis, where he arrived on the 
17th of December. He was met a few miles from the city by 
General Gates and Smallwood and the most distinguished 
citizens of Maryland and was escorted to the apartments pre- 
pared for his reception. His arrival was announced by salvos 
of artillery and he was otherwise greeted with an enthusiasm 
worthy of the venerable city, the seat of old colonial politeness, 
learning and splendor. The members of Congress tendered 
him a^public dinner and at night the statehouse was brilliantly 
illuminated. A ball was given by the members of the assembly 
and was attended by the beauty and fashion of the state, as 
well as the most distinguished men of the Confederacy. Ad- 
dresses were presented to him by the legislature and the city 
authorities, to which he made dignified and happy response. 
All vied in doing him honor. The preliminaries having been 
arranged, on the 23d of December in the presence of both 
houses of the state legislature, the Governor and council, many 
military officers and a throng of spectators, Washington en- 
tered the Senate chamber and advanced towards the Speaker's 
chair. In a calm, yet feeling and eloquent manner he addressed 
the President and members of Congress. When he had con- 
cluded, he delivered into the hands of the President the com- 
mission under which the liberty and the independence of Amer- 
ica had been achieved and commended his companions in arms 
to the gratitude of his country, and his country to the pro- 
tection of Almighty God. The President, on receiving his 
commission, testified to him on behalf of Congress and the 
people of the United States their gratitude for his long, per- 
severing and glorious fidelity to his country and commended 
him to the blessing of Heaven. Then calmly, as if he had 
not just resigned the highest place in his country's gift, the 
great man, now truly greatest in heroism, retired from the hall, 
to betake himself to the domestic seclusion of Mount Vernon. 



26o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

The war having closed, the attention of the people ar.d 
the government was drawn to the condition of the finances. 
Not only was the treasury of the United States empty and^ 
Congress burdened with a debt of $42,000,000 in specie, but 
the several states were also involved to a large amount. The 
commissioner of Maryland. Matthew Ridley, had succeeded 
in 1 78 1 and 1782 in negotiating a loan of three hundred thou- 
sand guilders, with the \'an Staphorsts, bankers, in Holland : 
but the legislature, belicvir.g the terms to be disadvantageous, 
in 1783 annulled the contract and directed the agent to repay 
the money already in his hands. The afifair was not uually 
settled for several years. The requisitions were collected to 
a great extent in specific articles which were sold for the benefit 
of the treasury. Every expedient, however, failed to enable 
it to meet the demands upon it. 

In its extremity, Congress called upon the States to agree 
to the levying of certain duties upon exports to cover the inter- 
est of the public debt, estimating the proceeds thereof at $1,- 
000,000, while the balance, $1,500,000 was divided among the 
several states. The proportion of Maryland amounted to $141,- 
517. The legislature immediately passed a law authorizing 
Congress to levy the required duties and to restore, so far as 
possible, the credit of the state, ordered the consolidation of all 
its funds, the collection of the purchase money of the confis- 
cated British estates, the sale of barges and other public 
property and laid a heavy tax for the ensuing year. Several 
of the states w^ere not so prompt. New York refused to grant 
Congress the authority it required, and some states neglected 
to raise their quota of the annual interest on the public debt. 
It therefore remained unpaid and Congress was obliged to 
issue certificates which soon depreciated to one-tenth of their 
nominal value, as public confidence in the authority and re- 
sources of the government began rapidly to decline. 

Prior to the war, Maryland had invested the sum of 
twenty-seven thousand pounds sterling in the stock of th6 
Bank of England. During the Revolution, the legislature had 
drawn bills of credit upon the trustees for the amounts of the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 261 

dividend which had been uniformly protested. They now ap- 
pointed an agent, Samuel Chase, to proceed to England to 
recover the amount of the accumulated dividends and to sell 
the stock for the purpose of honestly meeting their liabilities 
as quickly as possible. Difficulties and disputes arose and a 
considerable period elapsed before success crowned the efforts 
of the agent. The sum of six hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars being received as the proceeds of the trust estate. Fifty 
thousand dollars was paid to the late Proprietary, Henry Har- 
ford, in commutation of his claims. Harford, together with 
other loyalists had returned to the State at the close of the 
war and ex-Governor Eden sought to resume possession of 
the property which the Lord Proprietary had abandoned at 
the time of his flight. He was restrained in this by legal pro- 
ceedings instituted by the Governor and council, whereupon 
Harford appealed to the legislature for a settlement of his 
claim. His petition was adversely acted upon and the merits 
of the case were summed up in a Senate message to the House. 
This document set forth that the Revolution had been occa- 
sioned by the unjust acts of the British government of which 
the memorialist was a subject and to which he had remained 
attached thereby cutting himself off from any rightful claim 
for compensation for his losses. His claim for quit-rents was 
disposed of upon the ground that the representatives of the 
people could not consistently with their duty to their constitu- 
ents, do or suffer any act which might justify even a remote 
supposition that the people of Maryland were still tenants of 
a superior lord. It contended that the former Proprietary had 
lost his claim to quit-rents upon the Declaration of Independ- 
ence and that the citizens of Maryland thereafter held their 
lands upon equal terms with the citizens of other States. This 
action on the part of the Maryland assembly effectually dis- 
posed of the Proprietary's claims. The return of many tories 
to the State was a matter of grievance to its citizens and a town 
meeting was held in Baltimore on the 21st of June, 1783, at 
which resolutions were adopted declaring that it was not right 
that those who had not borne the burdens of the late strife, 



262 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

but had continued in sympathy with the government now over- 
thrown, should participate in the blessings derived from inde- 
pendence ; and the town's representatives were instructed to 
secure the passage of a law at the next session of the assembly 
prohibiting the residence in the state as citizens, of all persons 
who had not allied themselves with the patriotic cause. 

The generous attitude of Maryland towards the general 
government, which was shown by the acts of her assembly, 
June, 1783, "To invest the United States * * * with the 
power to levy certain duties on imported foreign goods, wares 
and merchandise as a fund for the payment of the debt con- 
tracted by Congress during the late war" was prompted by a 
broad appreciation of national needs. It was also in harmony 
with the State's endeavors to reduce to uniformity the con- 
flicting tariffs of the several States ; particularly, to come to 
an agreement with her neighbor, Virginia, in the regulation 
of commerce. After the Revolution, the Chesapeake became 
a great highway of trade and it was important that Virginia 
and Maryland should come to an agreement with regard to 
their conflicting rights. On the 22d of November, 1777, Con- 
gress took cognizance of the lack of a uniform price of labor, 
manufactures and internal and foreign products, and recom- 
mended Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina to appoint 
commissioners to meet at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the 
15th of January, 1778, to confer and to effect an agreement 
if possible. The convention failed to accomplish its object. 
An effort on the part of Maryland and Virginia the following 
year to harmonize their differences with regard to the jurisdic- 
tion and trade of the Chesapeake was no more successful. 
It was not until 1784 that the two States agreed upon a com- 
pact. A bill embodying its provisions passed the Maryland 
Assembly and was followed a short time after by the adoption 
by the House of a series of resolutions having for their object 
the regulation of the currency, as well as the harmonizing of 
the trade laws of the two states. These resolutions were con- 
curred in by the Senate and sent to the Legislature of Virginia 
as well as to those of Pennsylvania and Delaware, which, being 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 263 

neighboring states, it was hoped would also be favorably dis- 
posed towards a commercial agreement. Accompanying the 
resolutions was a proposition for Virginia to join with Mary- 
land in a petition to Congress for leave to form a compact 
between the two states for a naval defense on the Chesapeake 
and the Potomac. In these resolutions may be found the 
inception of the sentiment for a general convention of repre- 
sentatives of all the States. To Maryland must be accorded 
large credit for the influences set at work, which later crystal- 
lized in the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 

The intelligent interest which Maryland displayed in seek- 
ing an adjustment of currency and trade relations with proxi- 
mate States was an index of the general unsettled condition 
of the country in those respects. There was a preponderating 
sentiment in favor of a new issue of paper money, which should 
be so hedged about by statutory provisions as to give assur- 
ance of its circulation at par. This was the great issue of the 
elections of 1786. Seven of the thirteen states counted a ma-, 
jority of paper men in their Legislatures. The consequences 
were at once apparent. No sooner did these men find them- 
selves in pov/er than they hurried through all sorts of bills 
for the issue of paper. In most of the states the opposition 
sentiment broke down after but a slight struggle, but in a 
few the strife was bitter and protracted. Among these was 
Maryland. More than a year before, a paper money bill had 
been passed by the House, but failed of indorsement by the 
Senate. The rejoicing at the defeat of this measure was more 
than tinctured with clamor and indignation at the attempt to 
pass such a bill. Nevertheless a petition was sent to the Legis- 
lature from Baltimore praying for the emission of paper money. 
This instrument bore the signatures of nine hundred and ten 
men. Opposed to the paper party was the party of industrial 
progress. The latter contended that fiat money was but a 
specious panacea for the ills of the times and that in the build- 
ing up of manufactures, the encouragement of commerce and 
the passage of navigation bills was to be found the sources 
of real economic stability. The strife of words v/as bitter and 



264 FIISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the transparent arguments for "easy money" awakened as 
fanatical a spirit among those who were influenced by them 
as later characterized the "greenback era." The Maryland 
Gazette was the organ of the opposition and in its columns 
appeared expositions of the fallacy of the paper money posi- 
tion which aided in holding in check the tide of sentiment 
that set in that direction. In the midst of the discussion came 
the expiration of the term of the Senate. The campaign cen- 
tered about the currency and both parties carried on an ex- 
tensive pamphleteering canvass for votes for their respective 
candidates. When the heat of the battle was over and the 
ballots counted, it was found that the House of Delegates was 
made up almost entirely of paper men and that the hard money 
men were in the majority in the upper house, although many 
of the old advocates of specie had lost their seats. The situ- 
ation of course created a deadlock. Credit-bills passed by 
the House of Delegates were thrown out by the Senate and in 
the fall election of 1787 the currency was again the paramount 
issue. 

Notwithstanding the burdens which rested upon the people 
by reason of the large war expenditures and the derangement 
of foreign and domestic trade, rendered heavier by a clause in 
the peace treaty pledging to British subjects the payment of 
debts due them, Maryland soon showed signs of an industrial 
revival. The most significant indication of a reawakened spirit 
of progress was a project to construct a canal from the Penn- 
sylvania line along the Susquehanna to tide water. A com- 
pany for this purpose was duly incorporated under the name 
of The Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal.* The rich lands 
of the West and its mild climate had already attracted the 
attention of the settler, and crowds of hardy emigrants flocked 
thither to make the wilderness bloom with civilization. It 
became a matter of serious importance to open a convenient 
route for travel and transportation between the Atlantic and 
the growing frontier settlements. The position of the Potomac 



* Hanson's Laws; Votes and Proceedings. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 265 

on the map pointed it out as one of the most eligible means of 
effecting this desirable object. The idea was favored by the 
greatest men of the day. One of its most ardent friends and 
supporters was Washington. To carry it into effect Virginia 
and Maryland appointed conferees who assembled at Anna- 
polis on the 22d of December 1784, to devise some form of 
united action. General Washington and General Gates ap- 
peared in behalf of Virginia ; Thomas Stone, Samuel Hughes, 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, John Cadwallader, Samuel 
Chase, John De Butts, George Digges, Philip Key, Gustavus 
Scott and Joseph Dashiell on the part of Maryland. The result 
of this meeting was the formation of the Potomac Company. 
It was incorporated by Virginia and confirmed by Maryland, 
its actual organization being effected at Alexandria, Virginia, 
on the 17th of May, 1785. George Washington was chosen 
its president. 

The principal work undertaken by the Company was to 
make navigable the Potomac as far as Cumberland. From that 
point on to Ohio, transportation was to be facilitated by a wide 
road. Thus it was proposed to connect the rapidly filling west 
and the seaboard and to promote economic interest as well as 
amity between the two sections. To put the new company 
on a secure basis, it was proposed that Maryland and Virginia 
should each subscribe fifty shares of stock and direct a survey 
of the route to be made at their joint expense.* With the 
adoption of these proposals, it was felt that the project was 
encouragingly financed. Washington had such profound in- 
terest in the projected canal that he assisted in person to 
survey the river.f It was then supposed that the Potomac could 
be rendered navigable by locks and dams and short canals, 
and the works for this purpose were very soon undertaken. 
But experience proved the fallacy of the idea. The death of 
Washington had its influence in dampening the ardor of his 
associates and soon after it became evident that the company 



* Votes and Proceedings, Legislature, 1784, p. 24. 

t Tradition. 



266 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

could not meet the requirements of its charter with respect to 
the time when the river was to be opened for navifjation. The 
Legislatures of the two States were indulgent and the time 
limit was repeatedly extended. So things went until 1819.^ 
After an existence of thirty-five years and the expenditure of 
seven hundred thousand dollars, including stock, debts and 
tolls, with the payment of but one dividend of thirty thousand 
dollars in 181 1, the Potomac Company applied to the Board of 
Public Works of Virginia for relief.* 

Canal construction was not the only aspect of the trans- 
portation and highways problems which engaged the interest 
of iMaryland. Prior to the second war with England, com- 
munication between Baltimore and Washington was regarded 
as fairly satisfactorily established by a light coach and three 
horses, making the journey in a day and a half. The mail 
wagon, which was regarded as a marvel of celerity, left Penn- 
sylvania Avenue, Washington, at five o'clock in the morning 
and arrived at the Baltimore post-office at eleven at night. 
The delay in land traveling was due to the wretched condition 
of the roads ; ruts were deep and there was little or no attempt 
at grading. It was no uncommon thing for travelers to have 
to alight and assist the driver to extricate the vehicle from the 
mud. From the village of Rising Sun to Philadelphia the 
road was execrable, part of it being nothing more than a quag- 
mire of black mud. Along the York Road teamsters custom- 
arily unhitched their horses to aid one another in pulling their 
vehicles through the mire. A solution of the bad roads prob- 
lem was frequently sought by turning teams out of the road 
entirely and traversing the fields until past the bad stretches. 
The people of Maryland were not oblivious to the need of 
better highways and with the growth of sentiment gradually 
took hold of the situation. 

Improved methods of locomotion did not attract consider- 
able attention in the United States until after the first decade 
of the nineteenth century but to Maryland belongs the credit 



Ward, "Chesapeake and Ohio Canal," J. H. U. Studies, 17th Series, 
pp. 13-17- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 267 

of producing the inventor of the first steamboat. This was 
James Riimsey, a native of Cecil County, who in 1784 secured 
from the Maryland Legislature the passage of an Act granting 
him "an exclusive privilege and benefit of making and selling 
new invented boats on a model by him invented."* Washing- 
ton, who saw a trial of the boat, in which it successfully moved 
against the current of the Potomac, gave to Rumsey a certifi- 
cate of its efficiency. At this time the boat appears to have 
been propelled by paddles and setting-poles, the motion being 
communicated by hand ; but, during the following winter, the 
inventor directed his efforts to the utilization of steam and 
built a boat on the Potomac in the vicinity of Shepherdstown, 
which in December, 1785, he brought down the Shenandoah 
to Harper's Ferry. There, upon the 14th of March, 1786,'- 
was made a trial of the first steamboat. One of the pleasant 
incidents of the year which witnessed the organization of the 
Potomac Company and the initiation of Rumsey's endeavors 
for improved water navigation was the visit to Annapolis of 
the Marquis de Lafayette.f He accompanied Washington 
thither and the inhabitants of the capital vied with each other 
in doing them honor. Addresses were presented to the Mar- 
quis by the Governor and council and by both Houses of the 
Legislature. To testify further their gratitude for his generous 
devotion to the cause of American liberty, they passed an Act 
to naturalize him and his heirs male, forever; thus bestowing 
upon them those rights of citizens of Maryland, which he had 
so nobly aided in defending. They also ordered the Governor 
to procure a full length portrait of General Washington, 
painted by Charles Wilson Peale, a native of Annapolis, in 
pursuance of a resolution passed in 1781, to be placed in the 
hall of the House of Delegates. 

Connected a,s the colony had been with England, several 
of its religious denominations were subject to spiritual super- 
iors in that country. The Catholics of the State were under 
the jurisdiction of a vicar, appointed by the Catholic bishop of 



* Scharf " History of Maryland," vol. 2, p. 526. 
t Annals of Annapolis, p. 215. 



268 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

London, and the Episcopalians were subject to the AngHcan 
bishop of the same city ; while the Methodists looked to Mr. 
Wesley of England for ministerial appointments.* It now 
became desirable to establish separate ecclesiastical organiza- 
tions ; and the Catholic clergy assembled at White March on 
the 27th of June, 1783, to draw up a system for their gov- 
ernment. After several meetings these articles were completed, 
and the Rev. John Carroll, at their request, received from Rome 
the necessary powers of spiritual superior, A few years after- 
wards he was appointed a bishop, was consecrated in England, 
whither he went for the purpose and returned to his see of 
Baltimore in 1790, the first bishop of the United States. In 
1810 his see, having been divided into several bishoprics, he 
was elevated to the rank and dignity of archbishop. 

The Episcopal church had suffered much during the Rev- 
olution from the impossibility of obtaining ordination for its 
clergymen. It was a common want throughout the country, 
and the Rev. Samuel Seabury, of Connecticut, was dispatched 
to England in 1784 to obtain consecration as a bishop of the 
Episcopal church. Many obstacles were thrown in his path, 
but he returned the ensuing year. Several others in due time 
were consecrated and in 1789 the Book of Common Prayer, 
as now used, was ratified and adopted by a convention of that 
church. The application of the Methodists to Mr. Wesley 
resulted in the appointment of Dr. Thomas Coke as superin- 
tendent. 

While these steps were in progress for the furtherance 
of the organization of the religious bodies, the cause of learn- 
ing and science was not neglected. A college had been estab- 
lished at Chestertown, on the Eastern Shore — named in honor 
of the Father of his Country, Washington College. An addi- 
tional college in connection with it and under the patronage of 
Rev. Drs. Carroll, Smith and Allison was opened at Annapohs 
under the title of St. John's College ; and the two were erected 
into the University of Maryland. 



* Annals of Baltimore. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 269 

The land office was again opened and the bounty prom- 
ised the soldiers of the line laid off for them. The officers 
were not neglected. The depreciation of their pay was made 
good to them and those who had served in the independent 
corps were placed upon the same footing with regard to half pay 
and pensions as the officers of the line. Upon their commander 
a higher reward was bestowed. After the expiration of the 
term for which William Paca was eligible, in 1785, Major- 
General Smallwood was elected governor ; and continued in 
the office during three consecutive years. He was succeeded 
by Col. John Eager Howard, whose terms extended into 1791 
— ample proofs of the affectionate regard of the people and 
Legislature for the gallant men who had won so much glory 
for Maryland. 

A canal project, which proved more successful than that 
undertaken by the Potomac Company, called the Chesapeake 
and Delaware Canal because it was to furnish communication 
between those two waters, was conceived of at a very early 
date. In 1679-80 Dankers and Sluyter, two commissioners 
sent out to Maryland by a peculiar religious denomination of 
New Netherlands called the Labadists, entered in a journal 
which they kept of their travels an observation upon Maryland 
traffic and the desirability of a water way between the Dela- 
ware River and the Chesapeake Bay. After commenting in 
particular upon the geography of the region, they say : "What 
is now done by land in carts might then be done by water for 
a distance of more than six hundred miles."* They realized, 
however, the magnitude of the undertaking and spoke of the 
digging of the canal as a matter to be considered by the highest 
authorities in control of the region. Little attention was paid 
to the canal project until nearly a hundred years later, when 
various routes were surveyed. In 1806 Mr. Benjamin H. 
Latrobe, who made the survey of the route finally determined 
upon, mentioned that thirty-two surveys had previously been 



Memoirs of Long Island Historical Society, vol. i, p. 209. James, 
the Labadist Colony in Maryland, J. H. U. Studies in His. and 
Pol. Science, 17th Series, p. 32. 



270 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

made and this number was subsequently added to by fifteen 
more. On the 7th of December, 1799, the Legislature of 
Maryland passed an Act of incorporation of the Chesapeake 
and Delaware Canal Company, authorizing the cutting of a 
canal between the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware River. The 
company was empowered to receive subscriptions to the amount 
of half a million dollars in shares of two hundred dollars each. 
The cooperation of Delaware and Pennsylvania was first to be 
secured before the company could begin work. 

It was not until May, 1803, that the organization of the 
company was completed by the securing of a sufficient number 
of shareholders. The stockholders then met at Wilmington 
and elected William Tilghman, of Pennsylvania, President, 
and associated with him as directors a number of prominent 
gentlemen, among whom were Messrs. Chew, Gale and Adlum 
of Maryland. Benjamin H. Latrobe and Cornelius Howard, 
brother of Gen. John Eager Howard, were among the en- 
gineers and surveyors selected to carry out the undertaking. 
The Elk River route was chosen. Work was commenced upon 
the canal on the 2d of May, 1804, and it was completed on the 
4th of July, 1829, when water was admitted into the whole 
line. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



MARYLAND A FEDERAL STATE. 

We have seen that the Confederation in its need had ap- 
pealed to the States to come to its aid by imposing- a tariff 
upon imports and that Maryland had generously responded to 
the call, although the majority of the States had not been so 
forward to accord the degree of recognition of the general 
government which the adoption of its fiscal recommendation 
would have implied. The efforts of Maryland to harmonize 
its trade and currency differences with Virginia, resulting in 
a compact which was referred to Delaware and Pennsylvania 
for their concurrence, was well received by those States, which 
immediately appointed commissioners in accordance with the 
sixth and seventh resolutions of the Maryland-Virginia com- 
pact. 

Virginia, however, when it came to consider the appoint- 
ment of commissioners to meet those of the other interested 
States, broadened the plan to include a general conference by 
commissioners from all the States of the Union to take into con- 
sideration the trade of the United States and to consider how 
far a common commercial agreement would be conducive to 
the harmony and interest of the states. It was proposed that 
the commissioners should meet at Annapolis the following Sep- 
tember. The Maryland Senate, however, refused to concur 
in the Virginia proposition upon the grounds that the congres- 
sional fiscal proposition of 1783 ought to receive the indorse- 
ment of the states as a relief measure and that the proposed 
convention was an acknowledgement to the world of the weak- 
ness of the American Confederation, and further that it was 

271 



272 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

needful only to confer upon Congress the power to formulate 
a uniform system of trade regulation. But Maryland was 
ready to go into the convention provided that it was not con- 
fined to fiscal measures but should have purview of the whole 
plan of union for the correction of its defects. 

The convention for which Maryland declined to appoint 
representatives met in Annapolis on the nth of September, 
1/86, and continued in session three days. Five states were 
represented, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania 
and \"irginia. In consequence of the limited number of states 
represented, the convention contented itself with a statement of 
the defectiveness of the federal government and an exhortation 
to all the states to take action in the appointment of commis- 
sioners to meet in Philadelphia on the 2d day of the following 
May to devise provisions for the needs of the Union. Congress 
approved the recommendation of the convention, as did all the 
states excepting Rhode Island. On the 23d of April, 1787, 
the Legislature of Maryland selected five delegates to repre- 
sent the state in the convention about to assemble with power to 
revise the articles of confederation. They were Robert Hanson 
Ilarrison, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Thomas Stone, James 
McHenry and Thomas Sim Lee. Several of these gentlemen 
having declined, others were elected in their stead and on the 
26th of May, when the act of appointment finally passed, the 
delegation was composed of James McHenry, Daniel of St. 
Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll, John Francis Mercer and 
Luther Martin.* 

On the 14th of May the convention assembled at Phila- 
delphia and organized by electing Washington president of 
the body. The delegates, generally, admitted the pressing neces- 
sity of change. But, while one party was inclined to strengthen 
the State authority at the expense of the general government, 
dreading too great a centralization and a gradual destruction 
of freedom and State independence, the other, principally those 
who had served during the war, hoped to derive from an effi- 
cient national government that unity which would insure pros- 



* Votes and Proceedings. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 273 

perity and that stability which would demand respect from 
abroad and secure at home the blessings of peace, order and 
good government. Various plans were proposed. This was 
natural, as some had entered into the convention with monarch- 
ical sentiments and others were advocates of a partition of the 
confederacy. The northern states in particular, were greatly 
agitated over their incubus of debt for which they had sought 
to provide by renewed issues of paper money instead of by 
imposing taxes as had been done by Maryland. Even in Mary- 
land the people were much disturbed over the recent proposi- 
tion which had found favor with the House of Delegates for 
the issuing of bills of credit by the State to the amount of three 
hundred and fifty thousand pounds, and which had precipitated 
a violent controversy leading to the dissolution of the House 
of Delegates in resentment at the failure of the Senate to con- 
cur in its measure. The proceedings of the Philadelphia con- 
vention need not concern us further than to record the prom- 
inent participation in its debates by Luther Martin of Maryland, 
who was a leader of the opposition to the conferment of greater 
powers upon the federal government.* 

On the 7th of September, 1787, the convention concluded 
its labors and agreed upon the present constitution and form 
of government of the United States, which was laid before 
Congress. That body immediately directed that copies of the 
constitution should be transmitted to the several legislatures 
to be submitted to a convention of delegates, chosen in each 
State by the people in conformity with the resolves of the con- 
vention. 

The Legislature of Maryland, in compliance with this re- 
solve, on the 1st of December in the same year, by resolution 
recommended the people of the State "to submit the proceed- 
ings of the federal convention to a convention of the people 
for their full and free investigation and decision." For this 
purpose they further recommended "that such of the inhab- 
itants as were entitled to vote for delegates in the Assembly 
should choose four persons for each county and two for the 



* " Luther Martin, the Federal Bull Dog," Md. Hist. Soc. Publications. 



274 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

cities of Baltimore and Annapolis in the mode prescribed for 
holding other elections, to serve in the said convention." The 
qualifications of delegates were that they should he citizens 
of the State, twenty-one years of age. having resided therein 
at least three years and in the county twelve months before 
the election. The convention was directed to assemble at 
Annapolis on the 2ist of April, 1788, — if they approve the 
constitution, "to ratify it finally in behalf of the State and report 
their action to Congress." 

On Monday, tlie 21st of April, the convention organized 
by the election of Hon. George Plater, president. The few 
anti-Federalists present could not do anything positively to 
prevent the convention from taking favorable action so that 
they sought by a policy of obstruction to wear out the patience 
of the members and then to bring in a motion to adjourn. 
With a show of commendable caution, they urged that Mary- 
land should defer action until Virginia or New York or some 
other state more directly concerned in the proposed change 
should have taken action. The Federalists, however, were on 
the alert and estimated the attitude of their opponents at its 
real worth. They were determined to sit out all parliamentary 
obstructions and, although their patience was sorely taxed by 
the protracted harangues of their associates, they resolved that 
the convention should not dissolve without giving its ratifica- 
tion to the new constitution. After sitting for a week, the 
convention ratified the constitution by a vote of sixty-three 
to eleven. On motion of Mr. Paca, a committee of thirteen, 
was appointed to draft amendments, a series of which, thirteen 
in number, were agreed to in committee, while fifteen others 
were rejected by the majority. Mr. Paca read to the conven- 
tion the amendments agreed upon. A vote of thanks was ten- 
dered to the President and the convention then adjourned.* 
By its action, Maryland expressed its confidence in the general 
government and its willingness to accord to it those powers, 
the lack of which had shorn it of strength and had deprived it 
of respectable status among the governments of the world. 



Elliot's Debates on the Federal Constitution, vol. 2, p. 547. 



HISTORY OF. MARYLAND. 275 

The acceptance of the larger measure of authority evinced 
the wisdom of those who shaped the decision, but by many 
of these the new plan of government was looked upon askance. 
It was natural that those who had broken from the tyrannical 
government of England should fear lest they were forging 
chains for their own serfdom as a state, when they ratified a 
document which gave undoubted sovereignty to a general body 
which they had created and been accustomed to look upon sim- 
ply as the servant of the State. 

By the 2d of July, 1788, the constitution had been ratified 
by nine states and was laid before Congress, which immediately 
took steps for carrying it into effect. The States were directed 
to appoint their electors on the first Wednesday of January, 
1789, who were to assemble at New York on the first Wednes- 
day of February to cast their votes for the President and Vice- 
President of the United States, and the month of March was 
fixed as the time, and New York the place for inaugurating 
the government under the new constitution. On the 22d of 
December the General Assembly of Maryland passed an act 
providing an elective system. By this law the State was divided 
into six electoral districts. The first election was to be held 
on the first Wednesday in January, but thereafter on the first 
Monday of October every second year. The electors were to 
consist of eight persons, five to be residents of the Western 
Shore and three of the Eastern Shore. There were to be six 
representatives, to be selected from their own districts, but each 
voter should have the right of voting for the six persons. The 
elections were to be free and made znva voce. After consid- 
erable discussion concerning the election of senators, it was 
agreed that the two men for this office should be elected by 
a joint ballot of both houses. Upon the day appointed for the 
election, December 9, thirteen members of the Senate and sev- 
enty of the House of Delegates came together and it was re- 
solved that "one senator should be a resident of the Western 
and the other of the Eastern Shore." After three ballots, 
John Henry and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, of the Eastern 



276 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and Western Shores respectively, were elected the first sena- 
tors from Maryland under the new federal constitution. 

The elections of 1788 over, the people of the United 
States looked to Washington as the one man fitted to first grace 
the office of chief magistrate of the perfected Union. It was 
feared, however, that he would be unwilling to leave the pleas- 
ures of his retirement again to enter the arena of arduous effort 
in behalf of his country. Before the assembling of Congress, 
he received many letters urgently pressing upon him the na- 
tion's hope that he might consent to become their civil, as he 
had gloriously been their military chieftain. Thomas Johnson 
wrote : "We cannot do without you, and I and thousands more 
can explain to any one but yourself why we cannot do without 
you." Such was the feeling throughout the country, so that 
the action of the electors was a foregone conclusion. Assem- 
bled at New York on the 6th of April, 1789, where, since 
the 4th of March it had been awaiting a quorum, Congress 
gave official pronouncement of the decision of the elec- 
tors. When the votes were counted in the Senate, it was 
found that Washington was the unanimous choice, while John 
Adams received the majority vote lor the second place. Mary- 
land cast her six electoral votes for Washington for president 
and Robert Hanson Harrison for vice-president. Messengers 
were despatched to inform Washington atid Adams of their 
election. Charles Thompson, the Secretary of the Continental 
Congress, bore the letter of notification from John Langdon, 
temporary president of the Senate. He arrived at Mount Vernon 
on the 14th of April, and upon the i6th Washington set out for 
New York, feeling, as he confessed, the weight of responsi- 
bility which developed- upon him and for which he apprehended 
he would not be equal. His journey was marked by a contin- 
uous ovation. At Baltimore he was greeted by the ringing of 
bells and volleys of artillery ; a numerous cavalcade of citizens 
forming an escort to his carriage. A committee of prominent 
men presented him with an address of congratulation, to which 
he made feeling and dignified response, breathing the spirit 
of devotion to the cause of his country which had endeared 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 277 

him to his countrymen. On the 30th of April, 1789, he was 
inducted into the duties of his high office, upon taking the 
solemn oath prescribed by the constitution. With rare discre- 
tion, he associated with him in the executive offices of gov- 
ernment men of the highest competency. Robert Hanson Har- 
rison, who during the War of Independence had been one of 
his trusted secretaries, was appointed to the Supreme Bench 
presided over by the distinguished jurist, John Jay. Other 
Maryland appointments were William Paca, judge of the 
United States District Court ; Richard Potts, United States 
district attorney; Col. N. Ramsey, marshal; Capt. Joshua 
Barney, clerk ; Gen, Otho Holland Williams, collector of the 
port of Baltimore; Robert Purviance, naval officer; and Col. 
Robert Ballard, surveyor.* 

The national government had not yet adopted a perma- 
nent residence. Several States had made tender of locations, 
Maryland, as we have seen, being one of them. That State 
now made another proposition to the new Congress and di- 
rected its representatives to cede to the United States a district 
of ten miles square in any portion of its territory which Con- 
gress might select. After a good deal of hesitation and of 
conflict of the rival claims of the Delaware and the Potomac, 
the latter was chosen. The arguments in its favor, as advanced 
by Washington, Madison, Lee, Carroll and other advocates, 
were that the seat of government ought to be removed from 
the neighborhood of populous cities, and yet be as centrally 
located as possible. The selection of the site also had reference 
to the project of a canal from the tidewater on the Atlantic 
to the great west. When this enterprise should be carried out, 
it was urged that Washington would then be advantageously 
located for communication with the western frontier. 

Messrs. Johnson, Stewart and Carroll in 1790 were ap- 
pointed commissioners, and, vmder their direction the district 
was laid out on both sides of the Potomac, its territory being 
equally divided between Virginia and Maryland and including 
in its area the towns of Alexandria and Georgetown, The new 



* Annals of Baltimore. 



278 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

city whose site was selected for the national Capitol was named 
in honor of the Father of his Country, the city of Washington. 
On the 1 8th of September, 1793, the cornerstone of the north 
wing of the Capitol was laid by President Washington with 
Masonic ceremonies, he being prominent in the councils of that 
Drder. Congress met there ft)r the first time in NovemlDcr, 1800, 
but before that date Washington had ended his labors and 
passed to rest, leaving a memory revered and a name that 
should be the heritage of the centuries. 

Finding that the duties on imports were insufficient to 
supply the needs of the Treasury, Congress determined to 
levy an internal excise. Whiskey, as one of the most common 
and deleterious articles of consumption, was selected as the 
principal subject. The tax met with great opposition, espe- 
cially in western Pennsylvania. One of the objections to the 
law in that section was that an accused person suffered the 
hardship of traveling several hundred miles to Philadelphia 
to stand trial. On June 5, 1794, Congress passed an act for 
the relief of this grievance, providing that offenders against the 
internal revenue law might be tried in the state courts. But 
before this law could be made practically effective, the United 
States marshal had received a large number of writs to serve 
on persons in the western part of the State, summoning them 
to Philadelphia. When he attempted to execute the services, 
the people of the county raised the cry ''the federal sheriff 
is taking away people to Philadelphia." The popular resent- 
ment rose to a high pitch ; the marshal was captured by a mob 
and compelled under threat of death to promise to serve no 
more such writs west of the Alleghanies. He made his escape 
and by a circuitous route arrived in Philadelphia with the in- 
telligence of the grave nature of the uprising. Word was 
received by Washington that on August i a mass meeting 
attended by seven thousand persons had been held to protest 
against the enforcement of the excise law. The issue was 
clearly presented: was the constitution of the federal Union 
to be regarded in the same way as the flimsy affair which had 
furnished the basis of the old confederacy, or was it to be 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 279 

respected as the authoritative expression of a government that 
stood firm for its enforcement. There could be but one answer 
to the challenge, on the part of Washington. There were those 
in the government, however, who seriously questioned the 
advisability of using the radical means which the President 
advocated and employed. The argument was advanced that 
Virginia was also infected with resentment at the law and that 
the disaffected classes generally would rally about those who 
gave them an issue with the government. If the State militia 
were to be employed for the suppression of the uprising, these 
persons doubted that the citizen soldiery from the other states 
would serve. It was even argued that the disaffectants might 
turn to the British for succor and so plunge the country again 
into international strife. Edmund Randolph was the leading 
exponent of these views. Although Hamilton had greater con- 
fidence in the loyalty of the people to the general government, 
he yet entertained fears as to the response of the States to the 
call upon them to take up arms against the citizens of one of 
their number. Writing in 1799, he says: "In the expedition 
against the western insurgents, I trembled every moment lest 
a greater part of the militia should take it into their heads 
to return home rather than to go forward." However, when, 
the requisitions were made on the Governors of Pennsylvania, 
New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia for quotas of fifteen thou- 
sand men, they responded. An attempt at conference failed, 
and, it being reported that the insurgents were gathering in 
force at Cumberland, Maryland, for the purpose of marching 
on the arsenal at Frederick, whither the arms of the State 
had been removed at the close of the Revolution, an immediate 
call for the troops of Maryland was made by the Governor 
and was promptly answered. Five hundred men marched 
from Baltimore alone and the remainder of the requisition 
was filled up by the militia of the counties. The point of ren- 
dezvous was Cumberland. There the Maryland soldiers, joined 
by those of the other States, were placed under the command 
of Governor Lee, of Virginia. Their appearance crushed the in- 
surrection without the necessity of a battle ; only two men 



28o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

were killed and they in personal conflict with the soldiers, for 
which the latter were punished. It is to the discredit of the 
men of that day, however, that upon their arrival at Philadel- 
phia, the leaders of the insurrection who were taken prisoners 
were paraded through the streets with the word "Insurgent" 
on their hats and during the night were treated with the great- 
est cruelty by the soldiers on guard. The whiskey insurrection 
derives its importance not from its magnitude, which was too 
insignificant for it to deserve the name, but from the fact that 
it represented a great issue, the importance of which was little 
understood by those concerned in it. 

In the meanwhile Maryland was advancing in commercial 
and industrial importance, and the trade of the State was be- 
coming concentrated at Baltimore, which was the geographical 
center of the United States. As early as 1784, an attempt had 
been made to invest the community with municipal dignity, 
but the endeavor was thwarted by the rivalry of the people of 
Fell's Point.* But in 1796 the General Assembly granted Bal- 
timore Town the incorporation it sought and which proved the 
basis of a stimulated prosperity and rapidly increasing popula- 
tion. The English merchants, after the treaty of peace had 
lifted the restraints upon commerce with America, eagerly 
sought to regain that lucrative trade. In consequence of their 
efforts and those of a number of Holland merchants, who had 
established branch houses in Baltimore, with offices in the prin- 
cipal towns of the State, trade in tobacco, corn, wheat and flour, 
which were the staple products of Maryland, revived and sur- 
passed anything in the previous trade history of the State.f 
Baltimore, as the principal shipping port, was thus brought 
into great commercial prominence. With the growth of trade, 
shipbuilding advanced, and the "Baltimore Clippers" became 
famous, and carried the name of the city to the principal ports 
of the world. They frequently showed a speed that is now sur- 
passed only by swift ocean steamers. No other single fact 
contributed so much to the rise of Baltimore as did the fame 



* Scharf II, p. 603. 

t" Picture of Baltimore." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 281 

and service of the ships built upon the model which was dis- 
tinctive to the shipbuilders of the Chesapeake region. 

The difficulties which had arisen in Europe out of the 
French Revolution were reflected in the contemporary feeling 
and sentiments of the people of the United States. Genet, 
the minister of the French Directory, relying upon the pro- 
French sentiment in the country for support, was guilty 
of contemptuous indifference and insolence towards the Presi- 
dent, which resulted in his recall. A large portion of the 
nation, actuated by feelings of gratitude for the past assistance 
of France, were disposed to overlook the outrages of that 
people against American commerce, while similar acts upon the 
part of England engendered feelings of deep hostility. In 
national politics, the Democrats sided with France, while the 
Federalists were desirous of punishing her infringements of 
the nation's rights. The latter being more powerful, active 
measures against the Directory were resolved upon. Congress 
ordered an increase of the army, the command of which Pres- 
ident Adams bestowed upon Washington, who once more left 
his retirement at Mount Vernon to draw his sword in his coun- 
try's cause. Col. John Eager Howard was selected by him 
as one of his brigadier generals. Two or three French ships 
were captured an'd the French Directory at length consented 
to receive an American minister. This and other subjects of 
dispute being satisfactorily arranged, the war cloud passed 
over. 

In the meanwhile a contest had arisen in Maryland for 
the enlargement of the right of suffrage. The restriction of 
a property qualification was justly obnoxious to a large class 
of the population. The question went back to the close of 
the Revolution, although even prior to that in contests between 
the House and the Senate the former body frequently displayed 
the popular tendency towards a more liberal construction of 
the rights of franchise; while the latter body, from its com- 
position and mode of selection, was strongly conservative. 
Before the year 1800 it had become the leading topic in state 
politics and in that year the popular party succeeded in having 



282 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

passed through the House of Delegates a bill to extend the 
right of suffrage to every free white male citizen, twenty-one 
years of age, who had resided twelve months in the state 
and six in the county prior to the election. Tlie Senate voted 
to amend the measure by requiring that the voter should also 
have been assessed and paid a tax twelve months before the 
election and that he should have had two years' residence in 
the state. These amendments, the House contended, would 
make the bill an empty gift. For it would not only retain 
but enlarge the property qualification, and would deprive of 
the right of suffrage many who already possessed it — those 
whose property was greater in value, but was still under the 
limit of that upon which taxation was imposed. The two 
bodies being unable to harmonize their differences, the bill 
failed. 

Tlie controversy, however, only became the more bitter 
and at the ensuing session of the Assembly, in 1801, practically 
the same bill was re-introduced into the House, where it was 
passed by a vote of forty-eight to fourteen. At the same time, 
the committee, who reported the bill, intimated that the part of 
the constitution referring to the Legislature might profitably be 
altered, so that the Senate should be made more responsible to 
the people. That body was elected for a period of five years 
with the power of filling its own vacancies. Other modifications 
were suggested. As the manner prescribed by the constitution 
for its alteration would make it a constitution only to be found 
in acts of assembly, they advised that a bill recommending a 
convention to assemble in 1803 should be passed, to take effect 
if confirmed by the succeeding Legislature. Stimulated by tlie 
threat of the House, the Senate concurred in a suffrage bill 
which was passed on the 28th of December. The act of con- 
firmation introduced early in the session of 1802 was passed by 
a large majority of the House and unanimously by the Senate. 
Maryland thus became invested with a suffrage law equalled in 
liberality by that of only one other state, Vermont. At the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 283 

same time that the unrighteous restriction was removed from, 
the suffrage, the viva voce method of voting gave place to 
the system of secret ballot. Property qualification was still 
thrown around the state offices, but in 1809 all clauses of the 
constitution containing such restrictions were repealed by an 
act which was confirmed at the fall session of the Assembly of 
the same year. 

With the evolution of the franchise went along the de- 
velopment of the judiciary. The state was divided into six 
judicial districts, presided over by a chief, with two associate 
justices, for the county courts throughout the districts. The 
court of appeals was constituted of the chief justices of the 
six judicial districts. To secure impartiality in its decisions, 
it provided that the judge who had given an opinion in the 
lower court should withdraw from the bench at its trial in 
the court of appeals. Its sessions w^re to be held both on 
the Eastern and Western shores. 

The international relations of the United States began every 
day to grow more gloomy. The aggressions of the Bashaw of 
Tripoli had been promptly resented. The more trying oppres- 
sions of England were borne in the hope that remonstrance 
would obviate more active measures. The triumph of Napoleon 
over all the nations of Europe except England had made that 
country arrogant in her use of the great fleet which served 
to preserve her independence of the autocrat of Europe. The 
United States resented her seizing of property and the im- 
pressment of citizens as violations of the rights of neutrals. 
The relation of neutrality, however, gave the United States 
such important trade advantages and added so much to the 
wealth of the country that many persons, who upon general 
grounds of patriotism resented the insults of Great Britain, 
were willing to swallow their wrath and to raise their voices 
in deprecation of proposals to call Great Britain to account. 

Jealous of the growing naval power of the United States, 
England at length determined that American vessels bearing 
French products were lawful prize and laid most of the ports 
of France under embargo. France retaliated by the famous 



284 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Berlin Decree of November, 1806, declaring the British Islands 
in a state of blockade and all neutral vessels trading there 
liable to capture.* The claim of the British Government to 
the right of impressment resulted in the United States ship of 
war Chesapeake being fired upon because of the refusal of her 
commander to submit to a search. Popular indignation ran 
high and public meetings to protest against the indignity done 
the national honor were held throughout the countr)'. President 
Jefferson was importuned to resent the insult by a declaration 
of war. On the 26. of July the United States manifested its 
displeasure by declaring an embargo against British vessels, 
thus closing to that nation the ports of the United States. The 
English government disavowed the outrage, but the embargo 
continued. The Maryland House of Delegates in 1808 joined 
other of the maritime states in instructing its representatives in 
Congress to vote for a suspension of the embargo, but the Sen- 
ate stood resolute for the necessity of the measure, a position 
that both houses of the legislature agreed to at the next ses- 
sion. Foreseeing that war was inevitable, the Assembly sought 
to foster home industries in order to render the state inde- 
pendent of those things which it had customarily imported 
from Europe. They further directed their representatives in 
Congress to support the administration of the new President, 
Madison, in every retaliatory measure. The people earnestly, 
indorsed the action of the legislators. Associations were 
everx-Nvhere formed for the encouragement of domestic manu- 
factures and in Baltimore a company was incorporated under 
the name of the "Athenian Society" with a considerable capital 
to establish a warehouse for the reception and sale of such arti- 
cles. To aid in the advancement of this design, it further of- 
fered annual premiums for the best domestic productions, and 
members of the legislature as well as the people at large made 
it a matter of pride to appear clothed in the fabrics of the 
Statef 



* McMaster, pp. 249, 270, 292. 

t Annals of Baltimore ; Votes and Proceedings. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE WAR OF 1S12. 

On the 1 8th of June the American Congress formally 
declared war against Great Britain, assigning as the causes 
of its action the right of search of American ships claimed by 
the British, the impressment of American seamen, the lengths 
to which the system of paper blockade was carried and the 
gross injustices perpetrated against neutral commerce under 
the sanction of the British Orders in Council. The last of these 
grievances was removed a few days after the President's proc- 
lamation of the action of Congress. But that body was not 
mollified and alleged that the action of the British was not 
inspired by consideration for the American attitude towards 
the obnoxious British policy, but by regard for the needs of 
their own population. The other grievances remained unre- 
dressed and furnished ample justification for hostilities. But 
this sentiment was not universally entertained in the United 
States ; at Boston the declaration of war was made the occasion 
for general mourning. Throughout New England the people 
met to express their displeasure and to demand the restoration 
of peace. Flags on the shipping in the harbors were displayed 
at halfmast. A peace party was organized and adopted every 
method to discourage the advocates of the war and to cripple 
its progress. The pulpit as well as the press was arrayed 
against it and there were some who went to the length of 
advocating that the Northern States might profitably sever a 
tie of union which had long since been virtually dissolved. 

The session of the twelfth Congress was largely taken 
up with war measures. For several vears the military estab- 

285 



286 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

lishment of the country liad been upon the basis of three thou- 
sand men, and the navy, whose achievements were so largely 
to determine the conflict in America's favor, numlx^red but 
ten frigates and ten sloops of war, with about one hundred 
and fifty gunboats suited for harbor defense. At this session 
of Congress the several states and territories were laid under 
requisition to furnish their quotas of one hundred thousand 
militia. In compliance with this action. Gov. Robert Bowie 
convened the General Assembly of IVIaryland on the 15th of 
June to provide for the raising of Maryland's contingent of 
six thousand men. The Legislature took this action and 
also passed an appropriation bill of twenty thousand dollars. 
The defense of Baltimore was pushed ; the guns at Fort Mc- 
Henry were mounted and extraordinary measures taken for 
the security of the emporium of the State. The war enthusiasm 
was so strong that the recruiting officers were compelled to 
suspend enlistments by companies and to give preference to old 
military organizations. 

When the war fever was at white heat, its opponents in 
Baltimore occasioned through their injudiciousness an act of 
violence that remains one of the most regrettable occurrences in 
the city's history. The publishers of a journal called the Fed- 
eral Republican had irritated public feeling by their attacks 
upon government measures and, the day after the proclam'ation 
of war appeared, one of the owners of the paper, Alexander 
Contee Hanson, in a censorious article bitterly inveighed against 
the measure and impugned the motives of its advocates. The 
time of the appearance of this article was Saturday, June 2"^. 
The other papers upon the following Monday replied to the 
Federal Republican's attack and the excitement, which had 
partially subsided, was again aroused. Having intimation of 
a proposed attack upon their office, Jacob Wagner, the associ- 
ate of Hanson, removed the books of the firm from the building. 
About nine o'clock in the evening the gathering of a crowd 
of men and boys with noisy demonstrations was followed by 
a desultory attack upon the structure, which, however, soon 
became a determined purpose to destroy both the plant and the 
building, which was located on the corner of Gay and Second 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 287 

streets. The house, which was of frame, was razed to the 
ground, the presses were destroyed and the type thrown into 
the street. The rioting thus begun expressed itself in deeds 
of destruction of everything that the mob regarded as connected 
with British sentiment. Several vessels lying in the docks, 
bound for Spain and Portugal, were dismantled ; the mob 
having the impression that they were to set sail under British 
licenses. After the destruction of its Baltimore office, the 
Federal Republican was issued at Georgetown, but Mr. Hanson 
was not content to allow his principles to be repressed by the 
action of a mob. He unfortunately returned to Baltimore and 
upon the 27th of July renewed the issue of his paper in that 
city, although it continued to be printed in Georgetown.* The 
editor commented upon the conduct of the authorities and the 
people of Baltimore in the same violent strain that had before 
awakened popular feeling. He made no secret of his deter- 
mination to preserve such freedom of speech even to the point 
of actual hostilities. It was a matter of public knowledge that 
he had introduced into the house in which his office was located 
a company of friends and a number of stands of arms. In the 
excited state of the popular mind, this action was construed 
as a direct challenge, and, as night approached, a large crowd 
gathered about the house and began to make assaults upon it. 
After having several times warned them to desist, the besieged 
persons fired upon the crowd, w^ounding several of them and 
killing one. Some of the men in the street then brought 
a field-piece to bear upon the office, but were dissuaded from 
firing by persons of prominence and by the assurance that their 
enemies were ready to surrender. While being conducted to 
the jail, the prisoners were subjected to great indignities and 
that night the prison was broken into by the excited mob, who 
vented their spleen upon them by acts of the greatest cruelty. 
One of the unfortunates, General Lingan, who had served his 
state and country with credit in the Revolutionary War, was 
killed. Others escaped actual death by feigning it. The pas- 
sion of the mob by this time was raised to such a pitch that 



* Baine's " History of the Late War." 



288 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

they even threatened the postoffice because several of the ob- 
noxious papers were said to have been deposited there. The 
people of Baltimore had already obtained unsavory notoriety 
for outbreaks of popular feeling; they had burned Aaron Burr 
in effigy upon the discovery of his supposed treason and this 
new act of violence gained for their city the unenviable title 
of "Mob Town." The Baltimore disorders led to a great 
change in the political sentiment of the State, so that a number 
of counties which had been Democratic elected Federal dele- 
gates to the next legislature. 

In the prosecution of the war, the government planned 
to garrison and defend the seacoast towns largely by state 
militia, while the regular forces, aided by such militia as were 
not needed for coast defense, were employed upon the northern 
frontier. In these operations in the North, Maryland had no 
particular part, although her sons were in the regular forces 
and aided in achieving such victories as were won by the 
American army. In the meanwhile the State was actively 
pushing defense measures. The general government was re- 
lieved of the necessity of detailing any Of the regular troops 
for this purpose by the generous and patriotic action of the 
Maryland government in assigning to its own militia the work 
and providing for their pay from the funds of the State. In 
this way the forts of Annapolis and Baltimore were garrisoned. 
But Maryland did not confine her activities to self defense. 
Within six weeks after the declaration of war a company of 
Baltimore city and county artillery, under the command of 
Capt. Nathan Towson, was marching to the front. After 
General Hull's ignominious surrender of the fort at Detroit, 
Maryland, feeling keenly the sting of shame which this defeat 
brought upon the states, hastened to join in wiping out the 
disgrace by tendering to the President a number of companies, 
which, however, could not be accepted because of the low 
state of the national treasury until the state itself should 
provide for their comfort. Baltimore met this requirement 
by promptly raising fifteen thousand dollars, with which she 
equipped for service nearly a regiment of men and sent them 
to the front under Col. William Winder. Shortly after, these 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 289 

were joined by another company of volunteers. Not only did 
these men from Maryland go out provided with everything 
needful for their comfort, but they carried with them as well 
a flag made by the ladies of Baltimore as an inspiration to them 
to fight bravely for the honor of their State. It is invidious to 
make comparisons to the discredit of a sister state, but this . 
action of Maryland deserves the foil which is supplied by the 
attitude of Massachusetts. Concurrently with Maryland's 
prompt response to the nation's needs, the latter state was en-, 
gaged in seeking to evade all responsibility for the general 
welfare upon the ground that their militia was not subject 
to the behest of the President and could not lawfully be com- 
pelled to serve outside of the state. 

Recovering from the shock of Hull's defeat, the American 
army prepared for another expedition into Canada. While 
arrangements for this undertaking were in progress, two Mary- 
landers became the heroes of an exploit which compensated 
in part for the army's loss of prestige. Lieut. Jesse Duncarf"^ 
Elliott on the 7th of September was sent to join Gen. Van 
Rensselaer on Lake Erie to aid him with advice as to the con- 
struction of ships for the command of the Lake. The young 
officer was at this time but twenty-seven years of age, and 
felt profoundly the honor conferred upon him by so important 
an assignment. While he was engaged at Black Rock, the 
place selected for the building of the ships, the Caledonia and 
the Detroit, two British armed brigs anchored under the guns 
of Fort Erie. Elliott immediately conceived a plan for their 
capture and submitted it to the commanding officer, General 
Smythe, who proceeded to put it into effect. For this purpose, 
he detailed Capt. Nathan Towson with fifty Maryland volun- 
teers. The expedition was fitted out in two boats ; one under 
the command of Lieutenant Elliott, with whom were associated 
Lieutenant Roach of the engineers and Lieutenant Presstman, 
of Baltimore, in command of the infantry. The other boat was 
commanded by Sailing-Master Watts with twenty sailors and ^ 
twenty-eight artillerists commanded by Captain Towson. Si- 
lently ascending the Lake with muffled oars, they planned to 
make a simultaneous attack upon the two brigs and carry them 



290 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

by boarding. The project was successfully consummated. The 
enemy was taken completely by surprise and in ten minutes 
time, as Elliott wrote, the prisoners were "all seized, the top- 
sails sheeted home and the vessels under weigh." The expedi- 
tion, however, had drawn the fire of the enemy upon the Cale- 
donia. Sailing-Master Watts supposed that his pilot had not 
kept close enough to the shore to make a successful attack upon 
the Caledonia and ordered him to pass on. But Towson inter- 
vened and peremptorily ordered the pilot to lie alongside of 
the vessel. The attempt to grapple with the Caledonia was 
not fully successful and the boat was exposed to a raking fire 
from the brig. But, nevertheless, the boarding party were 
soon upon the decks and received the surrender of their foe. 
The adventure had a sequel in the grounding of the brigs in 
the Niagara River close to the Canadian shore, where they 
were exposed to a severe fire from field pieces mounted ashore. 
Captain Towson lightened his vessel, whose cargo consisted 
principally of furs, and succeeded in getting it afloat and under 
sail ; only to ground it a second time, but eventually he was 
able to get beyond the enemy's reach and presented the 
Caledonia not only as a prize of American valor, but as an 
addition to that fleet with which Perry was to win his signal 
victories. Lieutenant Elliott had not been so successful with 
the Detroit, and, after burning that brig, had sent word to 
Captain Towson to take a similar course with regard to the 
Caledonia. This order the resolute commander disregarded. 
The total loss of the Americans in the expedition was two 
killed and five wounded. This brilliant exploit reflected great 
credit upon the enterprise and valor of the Americans and 
served to expiate to a degree the discredit of their late reverses. 
This invasion of Canada, however, was not successful and 
General Smythe again prepared to undertake it, but once more 
met with failure. Colonel Winder's regiment had been detailed 
to cross the river five miles above Fort Erie, capture the guard, 
kill or take the artillery horses and to return to the American 
shore ; while a second division under the command of Captain 
King was sent up the river to storm the British batteries. 
King's division was discovered before it reached the shore and 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 291 

met with signal defeat. The rapidity of the current and the 
floating ice effectually frustrated Colonel Winder in his at- 
tempt to cross the river, and had he succeeded in doing so, 
he would have found it impossible to put into effect his plan, 
owing to the alertness of the enemy along the whole shore, 
who were aroused by the fire upon King. Filled with chagrin 
and disappointment at the repeated reverses which he met 
in his campaign against Canada, General Smythe ordered the 
volunteers to go home and the regular troops into winter 
quarters. 

The land reverses were atoned for by the achievements 
of the navy and of that irregular branch of the naval service 
of the times, the privateers. The latter harassed and annoyed 
their adversaries in every quarter of the globe, crippling the 
British fleets and preying upon commerce. Their depredations 
of this sort, as well as their destruction of millions of dollars' 
worth of property, were potent in bringing about a permanent 
peace.* Among those who achieved contemporary fame, but 
whose exploits, being outside of the arena of regular service, 
have not gained for them permanent recollection in the mem- 
orials of the nation, were Boyle, Stafford, Murphy, Wilson, 
Wiscott, Pratt, Southcomb, Veasy, Levely, Grant, Dawson, 
Moore, Richardson and many other sons of Maryland, while 
in the regular service Decatur and Barney gained imperishable 
glory. 

The first notice which America received that England had 
taken cognizance of her declaration of war by the adoption 
of offensive measures, was the passage of an order in council 
on the 26th of December, 1812, declaring the ports and har- 
bors of the Chesapeake to be in a state of blockade. It was 
not until the 4th of the following February, however, that any 
considerable force of the enemy appeared in American waters. 
It was then that Admiral Cockburn, entering the Virginia 
Capes, took possession of Hampton Roads. By the end of 
the following month, his fleet was sufficiently augmented for 
him to declare a state of blockade against the whole coast of the 

*Coggesheirs History American Privateering; Scharf, vol. 3, p. 32. 



292 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

United States, with the exception of Rhode Island, Massa- 
chusetts and New Hampshire. 

In the meanwhile the blockading squadron at the mouth 
of the Chesapeake sent marauding expeditions up the bay, 
plundering and burning farm houses and carrying terror to 
the hearts of the people. Frenchtown, Havre de Grace and 
Fredericktown and Georgetown (on the Eastern Shore) were 
plundered and burned. Upon the arrival of the enemy in the 
ChesapJeake, the Governor of Maryland had manifested the 
deepest concern for the defense of the State. Baltimore was 
practically at the mercy of the foe. In a letter to the Secre- 
tary of War on the 5th of March, 181 3, the Governor said that 
the forts were poorly garrisoned and asked for an assignment 
of troops. Receiving no reply, on the 20th of the same month 
he again broached the matter to the Secretary of War, calling 
attention to the defenseless condition of the state and his anx- 
iety to be informed as to what aid might be expected from the 
general government in the emergency of an attack upon any of 
the principal towns.* To this inquiry he received the reply 
that a battalion of militia had been ordered for the particular 
defense of the city of Annapolis and that a strong body of 
militia had been organized for the protection of Baltimore. 
These generalities were followed by other evidences of a lack 
of concern for the critical position in which Maryland was 
placed and deep indignation was engendered among the people, 
which found expression in angry articles in the press. Much 
anxiety w^as felt at Annapolis, when upon the ist of April, 
1813, the fleet of the enemy moved up the bay. The Governor 
called out the militia and again made earnest representations 
to the Federal authorities of the need of adequate protection. 
On the i6th of April the fleet threatened the city of Baltimore 
and so far from evoking sympathy, its plight elicited from 
some quarters expressions of satisfaction, whose animus was 
the rapidly developing commercial importance of the Mary- 
land metropolis. The annihilation of trade, necessitating the 
cessation of many forms of industry had thrown out of employ- 



* Ingraham's Capture of Washington, pp. 1-20. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 293 

ment large numbers of mechanics and caused even the neces- 
saries of life to rise to prohibitive figures. Many citizens pre- 
ferred to emigrate with their families rather than to face the 
situation of want and terror. When the Federal government 
persistently refused to aid the State, Maryland asked reim- 
bursement for the funds expended in the common defense, but 
this request, too, was denied. Yet when the government ap- 
plied for a loan of sixteen millions of dollars, the patriotic mer- 
chants of Baltimore subscribed three millions. 

Wherever the plundering expeditions of the British ap- 
peared, they were met with valor, although the few militia 
and raw troops hurriedly gotten together could not successfully 
combat the superior and trained force of the enemy. On the 
29th of April thirteen British barges manned by four hundred 
men made an attack upon Frenchtown, opposite Elkton in 
Cecil county. Putting to flight the small force of defenders, 
the British marauders plundered and burned and then passed 
on to White Hall and from there to the battery erected at 
Elk Landing, where, after an exchange of shots, they retired 
and reimbarked. They next appeared at Havre de Grace on 
the west side of the Susquehanna near the head of the bay. 
It was then a thriving town pi about fifty houses, protected 
by an insignificant battery of one nine and two six pounders. 
A small battery was placed at Concord Point and also at Point 
Comfort. On the 3rd of INIay, early in the morning, nineteen 
barges of the enemy's squadron suddenly appeared and opened 
fire upon the slumbering town. The air was lurid with the 
glare of shells and rockets. The same scenes of pillage and 
barbarity were repeated that had discredited the British in 
all such expeditions. Many acts of personal valor on the part 
of the defenders of the little town showed the determined spirit 
of the American fighter. A gallant defense was made by an 
Irishman named O'Neale, who manned one of the batteries 
himself and kept up a hot fire upon the barges until he was 
disabled by a wound in the leg received from the recoil of 
the cannon which he was firing. He then continued the fight 
with two muskets, which he loaded and fired until he was 
captured by the enemy. They threatened to hang him as a 



294 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

British subject found in arms, but the determination of the 
Americans to execute two British soldiers in retaHation in- 
duced them to spare his Hfe, and the "true and brave adopted 
citizen" was received as a prisoner of war. Passing up the 
Sassafras, Cockburn and his troops attacked the villages of 
Fredericktown and Georgetown. At the former place he made 
an offer to Colonel Veasy that if the shore battery did not fire 
upon the boats, he would content himself with burning the 
vessels and the storehouses. To this proposition Colonel 
Veasy made a contemptuous rejoinder; whereupon Cockburn 
soon put to flight the militia with a severe fire from his guns. 
On the 1st of June, Cockburn's fleet was reinforced by 
a considerable contingent under Admiral Warren, whose ships 
bore a large force of troops and marines under the command 
of Sir Sidnev Beckwith. Thus the State was kept in a con- 
dition of serious alarm. It became apparent that Baltimore 
could not hope long to escape attack, and companies of militia 
were mustered for its defense. In the latter part of May 
Governor W'inder convened the Legislature in extra session 
and laid before them the correspondence which had passed 
between him and the United States authorities. In his mes- 
sage to that body, he pointed out the recreancy of the general 
government in not providing for Maryland the protection 
from the invasion of a foreign foe which the federal compact 
guaranteed. This portion of the Governor's message was 
referred to a special committee which a few days later re- 
ported, confirming the Governor's complaint and charging 
the general government with a spirit of partiality in its dis- 
bursements to the states for defensive provisions. The report 
of the committee was adopted, and the sum of one hundred 
thousand dollars was appropriated, or such part thereof neces- 
sary to meet the expenses of the state militia already in service. 

' The British contented themselves with depredations along 

the coast until the reinforcements to the fleet and the addition 
of large bodies of troops gave them courage to enlarge the 
scope of the campaign. In the meanwhile the American Com- 
modore Barney had been assigned to the defense of the Chesa- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 295 

v^eake.* This was in the summer of 1813. His flotilla of 
gunboats was fitted out in Baltimore. He soon found himself 
in command of twenty-six such vessels and barges and a force 
of nine hundred men, officered by shipmasters and mates of 
the port of Baltimore. In May he proceeded down the Chesa- 
peake with the intention of attacking the enemy at Tangier 
Island. Sailing out of the mouth of the Patuxent River, he 
fell in with several vessels of the enemy and was compelled 
to retreat, being pursued by the foe. Barney retired to St. 
Leonard's Creek, where on the loth of June he accepted th 
challenge of the enemy to an engagement and gallantly bore 
a tremendous fire, yet without sustaining much injury. The 
flotilla, however, had done creditable execution upon the en- 
emy, one large schooner being put out of service. The ex- 
periences of Admiral Cockburn in the waters of the Chesapeake 
and its tributaries encouraged him to believe that the expe- 
dition might be widened to include not only the destruction 
of Barney's fleet, but also the capture of Washington. The 
British admiral ordered the troops to be in readiness to 
land and to be provisioned for three days and supplied with' 
fresh ammunition as well as arms and accoutrements. Every- 
thing being in readiness, on the 19th of August the Britisn 
troops five thousand strong under General Ross made landing 
at Benedict on the Patuxent.f In this act they met with no 
opposition, as there were no American troops within miles of 
the place. General Ross commenced his march towards Wash- 
ington. Immediately the militia of the State and the District of 
Columbia assembled to the number of about three thousand 
men under General Winder to oppose their progress. But this 
small and undisciplined force was compelled to retire until 
they reached the village of Bladensburg on the 24th of August. 
In the meanwhile the advance of the British had brought de- 
struction to the little fleet of Commodore Barney. General 
Ross had shown a strong reluctance to concur in Admiral 



* Scharf, vol. 3, p. 61. 

t Ingraham, 14, Gleig's Narrative, p. 95. 



296 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Cockburn's suggestion of an attack on Washington, but his 
objections were overcome. The destruction of Barney's flotilla 
was not effected by the British, but was heralded to them by 
dull, distant explosions. The brave commander, rather than 
\permit his ships to fall into the hands of the enemy, to be 
turned against the Americans, had abandoned and destroyed 
them. 

When the British arrived at Bladensburg, they found the 
Americans assembled in force. General Winder had been re- 
inforced by a body of twenty-one hundred men under General 
Stansbury, including the gallant Fifth Regiment of Baltimore 
under Col. Sterret, several rifle companies commanded by Major 
Pinckney. two companies of artillery under Myers and Magru- 
der and by the sailors and marines under Commodore Barney. 
General Stansbury was stationed on the left of the road lead- 
ing to Washington with his artillery in a breastwork near the 
bridge over the Western Branch, with the Baltimore volunteers 
in advance. Colonel Beall, with eight hundred militia was 
placed on the right of the road, while Winder in person com- 
manded the main body a short distance in the rear. The heavy 
artillery, under Commodore Barney, was posted on an emin- 
ence commanding the road. President Madison reviewed the 
army, but, upon the approach of the enemy, withdrew to the 
city, where he prepared an elaborate collation for the American 
generals when they should return to the city elated with 
victory. 

As soon as the enemy appeared in sight they formed and 
moved towards the bridge, but were received with a destruc- 
tive fire from the batteries and the Baltimore rifles. The road 
battery did tremendous execution. When it opened fire upon 
the British swarming over the bridge, almost an entire com- 
pany went down under the first fire, but the accuracy of its 
aim was not sustained and the British troops forced their 
way across the bridge and, having overpowered the rifles and 
the Fifth after a brave resistance, they drove back General 
Stansbury's force, capturing one of the pieces of artillery. 
Thus the advance or light brigade became established on the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 297 

opposite side of the river. Flushed with victory, they Hght- 
ened themselves by casting aside their knapsacks and haver- 
sacks and, extending their ranks to show an equal front to 
that of the enemy, they rushed on to attack the second line of 
defense ; but the Americans, standing firm, received them with 
a heavy artillery fire followed by musketry, and at the same 
time advanced to recover the ground which they had lost. In 
this way the precipitate retreat of Colonel Beall's militia and 
a detachment from Annapolis was prevented from carrying 
confusion to the main body of the army. The heavy fire 
poured into the flank of the foe from the battery and the 
muskets was delivered by Barney and by his marines under 
Colonel Millar. In seeking to avoid the cannon, the British 
grenadiers fell under the fire of the marines. The volleys 
were too galling to be endured and the confident enemy was 
driven back upon the main body in disorder. The moment 
was critical, but, for the want of a sustaining force, the Ameri- 
cans were unable to follow up their advantage, and Ross, 
having rallied his men and called into action the second bri- 
gade, debouched upon the left flank of the Americans and 
succeeded in turning it. By a concerted assault upon the front 
and the right flank, at the same time the left weakened, the 
marines were forced to give way ; Colonel Millar being 
wounded. Captain Sevier ordered them to retire. Barney, no 
longer sustained by a column of infantry, was unable to main- 
tain his position, although his gallant marines continued to 
work their guns as coolly as upon shipboard, until they were 
surrounded and some of their number bayoneted at their posts. 
Then only they retired, leaving their gallant commodore, cov- 
ered with honorable wounds, a prisoner in the hands of the 
enemy. 

Thus far, at least, defeat had not brought disgrace. Even 
while Barney and Millar seemed to be on the point of driving 
back the foe, the main body of the militia and a body of regular 
cavalry and infantry never brought into action had been or- 
dered to fall back. The men who had chafed at the folly 
of their leaders in withdrawing them almost in the moment 



298 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of victory,' now that their backs were turned upon the foe, 
were seized with panic, broke ranks and dispersed, many of 
them returning- to their homes.* So complete was the rout 
that the "Bladensburg races" became a favorite theme for 
the satirists of the day. The American force numbered seven 
thousand, the British forty-five hundred, although the latter 
were seasoned troops. This battle, which decided the fate 
of the American capital, began about one o'clock in the after- 
noon and lasted until four. The British accorded the highest 
praise to the marines under Commodore Barney. Their quick 
and precise serving of the guns, their resolute stand and cool 
nerve saved the Bladensburg engagement from being a wholly 
ignominious defeat. The loss to the Americans was thirty 
killed, fifty wounded and one hundred and twenty taken pris- 
oners ; although the British estimates placed the numbers 
much higher. ^ 

While the main body of the enemy was thus employed, 
one detachment plundered Ale-xandria. Another. ■ under Sir 
Peter Parker, made an inroad upon the Eastern Shore, but 
with a very different result. Two hundred militia had been 
collected under Colonel Reed, an officer of the Revolution, 
and Sir Peter determined to surprise them. The British ad- 
vance, however, found them fully on their guard. Tli£y were 
received with heavy fire. Pressing towards the right, they 
attempted to gain the flank of the militia, but were again re- 
pulsed. Having exhausted the ammunition. Colonel Reed fell 
back to obtain a fresh supply. The enemy, crippled by their 
severe reception and the loss of their leader, Sir Peter Parker, 
who was mortally wounded and died early in the action, aban- 
doned their expedition and retreated to the boats, leaving four- 
teen killed and twenty-seven wounded. The Americans suf- 
fered a loss of but three men wounded. 

J With the victory of Bladensburg, every obstacle in the 
way of the British was removed and their approach to Wash- 
ington was a triumphal progress. Arriving at the outskirts 
of the city, General Ross sent in a flag of truce with terms 



* Ingraham, 23-25; Gleig, 1 16-123. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 299 

for capitulation. Claiming that the Americans had fired upon 
the flag of truce and that his own horse had been shot from 
under him, General Ross laid aside all thoughts of accommo- 
dation and hurried his troops into the town, where, having 
first put to the sword all persons found in the house from 
which it was alleged that the shots were fired, they proceeded 
to burn and destroy everything that in the remotest degree 
was connected with the government.* At the advance 
of the British, President Madison and his cabinet had 
made their escape from the city across the Anacostia 
bridge, which they caused to be destroyed so that it might not 
be used by the enemy in pursuit. The people of Washington 
thus had their exit cut off in either direction and were thrown 
upon the clemency of their foes. Aside from the alarm of their 
situation, however, there was no suffering inflicted upon the 
citizens. The destruction of the public records and the library 
of Congress and public buildings was an act of vandalism of 
which the British themselves were ashamed and for which 
the firing"upon the flag of truce -did not furnish justification, 
even if that claim was not an afterthought to mollify the feel- 
ing engendered against the victors.f The capture of Wash- 
ington was more spectacular than serviceable, as it was im- 
possible for the enemy to hold it. Its chief value was the 
deep impression which it made not only in England and Amer- 
ica, but also in France and other parts of Europe. It was 
hoped by the British that the spirit of their foes would be 
crushed by the loss of their capital and that they would sue 
for peace. Had the British, instead of proceeding to Wash- 
- ington, pursued the Americans after the defeat at Bladensburg, 
it is probable that the little army would have met with such 
chastisement as would have more than compensated in practical 
results for the temporary abandoning of the Washington expe- 
dition. 

Having triumphantly despoiled the capital of the Union, 
General Ross turned his eyes towards the flourishing and 



* Ingersoll, Hist. War of 1812, vol. 2, p. 167. 
tingersoll, 35-37; Gleig, 124. 






300 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

wealthy city of Baltimore. Anticipating his design, the gov- 
ernor had ordered the militia of the State to hold themselves 
in readiness and large bodies were marched to the city for its 
defense.* About seven hundred regulars, and several volun- 
teer and militia companies from Pennsylvania and Virginia 
increased their strength to about fifteen thousand men. They 
were commanded by Gen. Samuel Smith, who had distin- 
guished himself in the Revolution by his gallant defense of 
Fort Mifflin. One division of the army was confided to General 
Winder; the other to General Strieker. As soon as it was 
announced that the British were approaching the city, the mili- 
tia, irritated by the disaster at Bladensburg and the sacking of 
\\''ashington, flocked in from all quarters in such numbers that 
neither arms, ammunition nor provisions could be supplied 
them, and the services of many were of necessity declined. 
As it was expected that the enemy would land and attack the 
town from the east, heavy batteries were erected on the high 
ground in diat direction and an intrenchment thrown up, in 
which the main body of the militia was posted. On the water 
side the city was defended by Fort McHenr}% garrisoned by 
a thousand men under Major Armistead. Two small batteries 
were erected on the south side, while the channel was obstructed 
by a number of sunken vessels. It was September 11, 1814,'^ 
when intelligence of the arrival of the enemy's fleet was an- 
nounced to the people by the tire of three cannon, which rudely 
disturbed the Sabbath stillness. Congregations were dismissed, 
drums beaten, men on horseback galloped to and fro, rousing 
the people and every man was mustered to his place. A re- 
connoitering party was sent out to "feel the enemy." The 
young men to whose valor this trust was committed unfor- 
tunately fell into the hands of the British general. The troops, 
full of enthusiasm, marched out of Baltimore as though upon 
dress-parade. At seven o'clock on Monday morning, the 12th, 
General Strieker, the commanding officer of the division, re- 
ceived word that the enemy, under cover of their guns, were 
ebarking at North Point at the mouth of the Patapsco, four- 



* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 102-7 ; Dr. Emmon's "Defense of Baltimore.." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 301 

teen miles from Baltimore. He immediately sent back his 
baggage under a strong guard and prepared to give the British 
a warm reception. His force was composed of the fifth regi- 
ment under Colonel Sterrett; the sixth, under Colonel Mc- 
Donald; the twenty-seventh, under Lieutenant-Colonel Long; 
the thirty-ninth, under Colonel Fowler; the fifty-first, under 
Colonel Amey; also, one hundred and fifty riflemen, under 
Colonel Dyer ; one hundred and forty cavalry, under Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Biays, and the Union Artillery with six field pieces. 
In the regiments of the brigade were incorporated Spangler's 
York, Metzgar's Hanover, Dixon's Marietta and Quantril's 
Hagerstown Uniformed Volunteers. General Strieker took a 
position about eight miles from the city, his right resting on 
Bear Creek and his left covered by a marsh. The fifth and 
twenty-seventh regiments formed the first line ; the fifty-first 
was posted three hundred yards in the rear of the fifth; and 
the thirty-ninth in the rear of the twenty-seventh. The sixth 
was held in reserve. The artillery, comprising six four-pound- 
ers, was planted on the main road, and a corps of riflemen 
pushed in advance as skirmishers. The rifles soon fell in with 
the van of the enemy, and a sharp skirmish ensued, during 
^^hich General Ross was killed. The death of the British gen- 
eral filled his army with horror and dismay. The command 
now devolved upon Colonel Brook. Under him the British con- 
tinued their advance and at half past three the action com- 
menced with the main body by a heavy cannonade. General 
Strieker ordered his artillery to cease firing until the enemy 
should get within close cannister range and brought up the 
thirty-ninth on the left of the twenty-seventh, while the fifty- 
first was ordered to form at right angles with the line, resting 
its right near the left of the thirty-ninth. The fifty-first, in 
attempting to execute this order, fell into confusion, which, 
however, was soon remedied. Colonel Brook, perceiving his 
advantage and hoping to produce a general rout, charged with 
vigor, the Americans reserving fire until the foe was near 
enough for their artillery to belch forth its death-dealing "grape 



302 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

and cannister, shot, old locks, pieces of broken muskets, and 
everything which they could cram into their guns."* 

Weakened by the desertion of the fifty-first and two com- 
panies of the thirty-ninth, the defenders numbered hardly 
more than fourteen hundred men. The whole line, undismayed, 
maintained its ground with the greatest firmness pouring in 
a destructive fire upon the advancing columns of the enemy. 
The artillery reopened with terrible efifect upon their left, 
which was opposed to the fifth, while that gallant regiment 
proudly sustained the laurels which it had won at Bladensburg. 
This close and hot fire was kept up without intermission for 
nearly an hour, in the face of a foe more than treble their 
numbers in action. Their volleys were deadly, for .they fired 
not only by order, but each man at his mark and the front ranks 
of the enemy were frequently observed throwing themselves 
upon the ground to avoid the unerring bullets. 

Finding that his foe, uncovered on the left flank, was no 
longer able to make head against the superior strength of the 
enemy, and having accomplished the main object of his de- 
tachment by the severe check which he had given them, General 
Strieker ordered his line to retire to the position of the sixth, 
his reserve regiment. This was accomplished in good order, 
but the fatigued condition of the troops who had been in 
action, and the exposed position which he occupied, determined 
the general to fall back still nearer the city. The enemy, crip- 
pled by the severe contest, did not attempt pursuit, and the 
brigade, feeling that it had gathered the benefits of a victory, 
assumed its position near the lines. 

The American loss was heavy. Adjutant James Lowry 
Donaldson, a member of the legislature, fell in the hottest of 
the conflict. Lieutenant Andre was killed. Captain Quantril of 
Hagerstown, Captain Stewart, Major Moore, Lieutenant Reese, 
Joseph R. Brookes and Ensign Kirby were wounded. The 
American loss was twenty-four killed, one hundred and thirty- 
nine wounded ana fifty prisoners ; a total, of two hundred and 
thirteen. The loss of the enemy was nearly twice as great. 

*Gleig, 175-178. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 303 

On the morning of the 13th of September, the British 
made their appearance within two miles of the entrenchments 
on the Philadelphia road, as if endeavoring to gain the flank 
of the American position; but, baffled by the skilful man- 
oeuvres of General Smith, after throwing forward a recon- 
noisance and threatening the lines in front, they retired towards 
their former position, deterred from the attempt by the strength 
of the works. 

Having thus failed to take the city by land, the enemy 
hoped that an attack by water would be more successful and 
on the evening of the 13th the fleet began to bombard the fort, 
its main defense. The garrison was composed of three com- 
panies of United States artillery and three volunteer city com- 
panies, under Captain Berry, Lieutenant Pennington, and Cap- 
tain Nicholson, besides six hundred infantry ; in all about one 
thousand men under Colonel Armistead. For a time the gar- 
rison were compelled to receive the fire of the fleet in silence, 
anchored, as it was, two miles from the fort and beyond the 
reach of its guns. At length, however, some confusion being 
created in the southwest bastion by the bursting of a bomb, 
several vessels were brought within range to follow up the 
supposed advantage; but the batteries immediately opened 
upon them with such effect that they were driven back to their 
former position. At this safe distance they poured a continu- 
ous storm of shells upon the gallant defenders of the fort, who 
held their posts in stern silence, ready to repulse any nearer 
approach. During the night, several rocket vessels and barges, 
Vv'ith fourteen hundred men, supplied with scaling ladders, 
passed silently by the fort and entered the harbor. Little 
dreaming of the resistance of the six and ten gun batteries, 
as they drew opposite to them, the foe, by order of their com- 
mander, Lieutenant Webster, opened upon the batteries with 
a terrific fire. This the fort and the ten gun battery returned 
with spirit, and for two hours a furious cannonade was kept 
up, while the heavens were Hghted with the fiery courses 
of the bombs from the fleet and the barges. The havoc was 
dreadful. One of the barges was sunk and the cries of the 



304 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

wounded and drowning- could be plainly heard upon the shore. 
The rest, in the utmost confusion, retreated precipitately to 
the fleet. 

It was under these circumstances that Francis Scott Key 
wrote "The Star Spangled Banner." He had gone on board a 
vessel of the British fleet under the protection of a flag of truce 
to eflfect the release of some captive friends and was him- 
self detained. His immortal poem is descriptive of the scenes 
of that dreadful night and vividly portrays the mingled emo- 
tions which thronged his own breast. As the struggle ceased, 
upon the coming of morn, uncertain of its result, his eye sought 
for the flag of his country, as he asked in doubt: 

"Oh ! say can you see by the dawn's early light, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? 
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight 

O'er the rampart we watched, were so gallantly streaming? 
The rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air. 

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. 
Oh, say does that star spangled banner still wave 

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" 

And then, as through "the mists of the deep," dimly loomed 
that gorgeous banner fluttering in the first rays of the morning 
sun, he triumphantly exclaimed : 

" 'Tis the Star Spangled Banner! oh long may it wave 
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave." 

Baffled by land and water. Admiral Cockburn and Colonel 
Brook determined to abandon the expedition. On the 15th and 
1 6th, the troops were embarked and the hostile fleet dropped 
down the Chesapeake, leaving the liberated city filled with joy 
at her triumphant preservation. After burning and destroying 
the property of the defenseless citizens for some time longer, 
and threatening the towns on the coast, Cockburn at length 
withdrew. The gallant defense of Baltimore saved the other 
Atlantic cities from attack and renewed general confidence in 
America's defenders when led by brave and skilful officers. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



INDUSTRIAL AND GOVERNMENTAL DEVELOPMENT. 

Early in the ensuing year the war closed by an honorable 
peace, signed at Ghent on the 24th of December, 1814, and 
ratified by the United States on the 17th of February, 1815. 
Maryland once more turned her energies to the great work of 
fostering her own growth and increasing her strength and re- 
sources. It was a veritable golden age in the history of the 
State and Baltimore particularly went forward by leaps and 
bounds in commercial importance. This is not surprising when 
the situation of Baltimore, her commercial advantages and the 
enterprise of her citizens are considered. The most rapid 
and considerable increase in the population and wealth of the 
State took place in that city and in no other period did 
she stride forward so rapidly as during that of -the great 
European wars, when commerce was thrown principally into 
the hands of the Americans. In 1790 her population had num- 
bered but thirteen thousand. Yet, in ten years it had doubled 
and in ten years more had almost quadrupled. Such rapid 
growth for so long a period was unprecedented. A spirit of ac- 
tivity and progress pervaded every class of society and touched 
and invigorated all industry. During the war the vessels 
belonging to the port had become scattered in various parts 
of the United States. Prevented by the blockade from entering 
the port of Baltimore, the fleet clippers carried the trade of 
other ports and thus continued to make money for Ttheir Mary- 
land owners. These were now called home and the trade with 
China, Batavia, Bengal and other parts of Asia was resumed 
and greatly extended, as was commercial intercourse with the 

305 



3o6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

various countries of Europe. The products of a large section 
of the country were brought to Baltimore for foreign disburse- 
ment. European imports were greatly augmented and Great 
Britain particularly sent to Baltimore her diversified manu- 
factures. The same impetus which characterized the trade 
of Baltimore during the years following the war gave to real 
estate a higher appreciation in value than it had ever before 
possessed. To accommodate the increasing population, many 
dwelling houses were erected and their rents for that time 
were exorbitant. 

Baltimore, however, was but participating in a wave of 
prosperity that swept over the whole country and, if her gains 
were considerable, they were due to her fortunate situation. 
It was impossible that such sudden prosperity should not pos- 
sess fictitious elements ; in fact there was considerable infla- 
tion in it. The conditions uix)n which it was based were not 
in a real sense normal, and, when the inevitable reaction set 
in, Baltimore suflFered severely. Business was curtailed, prop- 
erty depreciated in value; and, when in 1818 the panic set irt 
which brought ruin to many persons and caused the stock of 
the Bank of the United States to drop one-third in value in 
the space of a few weeks, many Baltimore business men were 
among the principal sufferers. Those who were not ruined 
by the collapse had their spirit of enterprise so shocked that 
they became as hesitating and timid in making business ven- 
tures as they had before been confident and aggressive. The 
setback which the commerce of the city had experienced was 
but temporary and, if Baltimore's after progress was less buoy- 
ant, it was more stable. 

The part which Baltimore played in the War of 1812 was 
in the highest degree honorable. Her ready financial response 
to the needs of the nation evoked from President Madison the 
enconium : "The claims of Maryland for her expenditure dur- 
ing the war stand upon higher ground than those of any state 
in the Union." The burden of the war, however, had laid 
upon the State a necessity which it had not before experienced : 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 307 

namely, that of imposing taxation upon its citizens. The fund 
of $1,500,000 to her credit in the Bank of England at the close 
of the Revolutionary War had furnished sufficient revenue to 
meet the needs of government ; while Baltimore City found the 
licenses upon retail trade and similar sources of revenue suffi- 
cient for her municipal needs. After the war, however, the 
State's obligations were too large to be met without recourse 
to the method in use in all of the other states. In 1816 her 
citizens were required to pay a rate of twelve and a half cents 
on the hundred dollars. 

The rapid growth of Baltimore and the increasing strength 
and population of the western counties, whose inhabitants had 
frequently declared their opposition to certain features of the 
constitution, at length brought the question of its reform into 
greater prominence and made it the engrossing topic of dis- 
cussion and the great object of political movement. By the 
system of that day, the senate, the governor and council and 
the majority of the legislature itself could be elected by a 
minority of the people. As the legislature was composed of 
four members from each county and two from the cities of 
Baltimore and Annapolis, the smaller and less populous coun- 
ties had as much influence in that body as the larger. Six 
members of the eighty, which at that time composed the house 
of delegates, were elected from Baltimore city and county ; 
Vv'hile these paid about one-third of all the funds of the State, 
excepting such as were derived from sources other than taxa- 
tion. Ten counties, with perhaps little over one-third of the 
population of the state, could cast a majority of votes. The 
same held good in regard to the senate, which was chosen by a 
body of electors of two from each county, and, as the governor 
and council were selected by the two houses on joint ballot, 
the influence of the ten smaller counties, if brought to bear, 
could outweigh that of the larger. The Assembly was thus a 
confederation of counties with equal voice without regard to 
population or wealth. This disparity had existed from the 
adoption of the constitution, but, with the rapid growth of 
Baltimore and the western counties and the dimunition of the 



3o8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

smaller, it became more glaring. The mode of electing the 
senate was particularly objectionable. As early as 1807 a strong 
effort had been made to effect an alteration in the system. 
It was corrected so that one member from each county was 
elected by the people and in the bill for that ])urposc which 
passed the house an attempt was made to incorporate a pro- 
vision regulating the number of delegates for each county in 
proportion to population. This measure, however, was opposed 
by the senate and the house ordered the rejected bill to be 
published in the votes and proceedings for the information of 
the people.* A similar bill met with a like fate in the ensuing 
year and the struggle seems to have been absorbed by the more 
exciting questions which occupied the public mind prior to the 
breaking out of hostilities. 

No sooner was peace declared, however, than the old dis- 
putes v.cre revived. Complaints arose from all quarters about 
the inequality of the system under which the State was gov- 
• erned. The dissatisfaction extended to other features besides 
the organization of the house and senate. The mode of electing^ 
the g<3vernor, the tenure of many offices, particularly those 
of the county clerks and registers of wills — profitable offices held 
during good behavior, in effect for life — became the subject 
of violent opposition. For years, however, efforts to effect a 
change were frustrated. .Both of the political parties in the 
counties which advocated the reform united to secure their ob- 
ject, but in vain. The discordant elements of such ill-assorted 
alliances militated against cohesive effect. Finally, however, 
united effort brought about practical results through the in- 
strumentality of a convention of reformers, of which we shall 
\.^ speak particularly later. This was the reform convention of 
the 6th of June, 1836. 

The growth of Baltimore in population, drawn from many 
sources, naturally resulted in the introduction of many features 
of social life and organization, to which these persons had pre- 
viously been accustomed. The most notable result of an effort 
to establish former affinities was the organization in Baltimore, 



* Votes and Proceedings. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 309 

in April, 1819, of the first lodge of Odd Fellows in the United 
States. The honor of its institution is due to Thomas Wildey, 
a London mechanic, who came to America in 18 17. In order 
to secure a sufficient number of persons for the organization of 
a lodge, an advertisement was inserted in the papers, and this 
resulted in an organization's being effected at ''The Seven 
Stars" tavern; a building which remained standing, an object 
of veneration to the order until finally destroyed in the great 
Baltimore fire of Feb. 7, 1904. In February, 1821, the Grand""^ 
Lodge of Maryland and of the United States was organized 
in Baltimore, but later divided itself into two bodies. 

The year which witnessed the introduction of Odd Fellow- 
ship into Baltimore is notable also for a visitation of quite 
another character. A malignant epidemic of yellow fever pre'^"^ 
vailed in most of the large cities of the country, which were 
put under severe quarantine. Baltimore suffered peculiarly 
in that it was early visited with the plague and the terror pf 
the infection led the authorities of neighboring cities to refuse, 
shelter to refugees. The fever, however, was confined to the 
less healthful portions of the city, and finally came under con- 
trol. While it lasted, however, business was brought to a 
standstill and the hills in the northeastern suburbs of the city 
were dotted with tents for the reception and isolation of the 
plague-stricken persons.* 

The interest in internal improvement in Maryland con- 
tinued to center in canal projects.f The immense mineral 
resources of western Maryland, the rich mines of iron ore and 
the inexhaustible supply of coal which its mountains contained 
made it a matter of peculiar importance to Maryland that the 
designs of the Potomac Company should be carried out, aside 
from the growing trade with the West. But, as we have seen, 
the Potomac Company had not been successful nor were its 
plans feasible. It was therefore proposed that the Potomac 
Company should surrender its privileges to a new corporation, 
to be formed for the purpose of making a canal along the river 



* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. I46-7- 
t Adams, Maryland's Influence in Forming Commonwealth, pp. 109-112. 



310 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

to its head and thence to the waters of the Ohio. Tliis was 
an undertaking of vast magnitude. The advocates of the pro- 
ject felt their way along and made the necessary preliminary 
surveys. In 1821 the states of Virginia and Maryland ap- 
pointed a joint commission to examine into the affairs of the 
Potomac Company, and, upon its report of that Company's 
insolvency and its failure to comply with the conditions of its 
charter, the Potomac Company on the 3rd of February, 1823, 
adopted a resolution expressing their willingness to surrender 
their charter. At the same time a bill was introduced into the 
Maryland Legislature for the incorporation of a new associa- 
tion to be called the Potomac Canal Company. The bill met 
with active opposition from P.altimorc ; not because its citizens 
were not favorable to a canal, but because it called for the 
appropriation of large funds or credit of the State, one-third 
of which they would be compelled to pay without receiving 
commensurate advantages ; many even being apprehensive of 
actual loss through the diversion of the city's trade to George- 
town. This apprehension arose from the fact that the canal 
was to terminate at Georgetown and the company was to have 
ceded to it the right to the waters of the Potomac River, which 
would prevent the city of Baltimore from making connection 
with the canal at any future time. Baltimore insisted that, 
according to the original intention, the canal ought to terminate 
there instead of at the tidewater of the Potomac. Neverthe- 
less the Maryland Legislature approved the design and a con- 
vention was called at the city of Washington of delegates 
chosen by the people of the different counties of Virginia, 
Maryland and Pennsylvania to consider the best means of 
effecting the object. Fourteeri delegates were present, eight 
of whom were from Maryland, besides representation from 
the District cities. This was upon the 6th of November, 1823. 
As a result of their deliberations, it was resolved that a com- 
pany should be formed to construct a navigable canal by way 
of Cumberland to the coal banks on the eastern side of the 
Alleghanies and thence, as soon as practicable, to the highest 
point of navigation on the Ohio or the Monongahela. It was 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 311 

proposed to have the project put into effect by inducing the 
federal government to cooperate with the three states for the 
completion of the canal. Subscriptions from private stock- 
holders were also to be received. The "Chesapeake and Ohicr''^ 
Canal" was the name finally adopted. During the sessions of 
the convention a communication was presented from two dele- 
gates from Ohio proposing a further extension of the work by 
a canal from the Ohio through that state to the Great Lakes 
of the north. This portion of the design was finally accom- 
plished by that state unaided. 

In conformity with the recommendations of this body, 
an act was passed by Virginia on the 27th of January, 1824, 
to incorporate the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.* Maryland, 
Pennsylvania and the federal government confirmed Virginia's 
action. The agitation of Baltimore for consideration of its in- 
terests was fruitful in having embodied in the provisions for the 
canal the reservation of a right for Maryland at any time to 
construct a lateral section through the District of Columbia and 
terminating at Baltimore. Maryland also had strenuously in- 
sisted upon the expediency of the general government's fos- 
tering and aiding the completion of the canal as a great na- 
tional work. It authorized the state treasurer to subscribe in 
its behalf five thousand shares of stock at one hundred dollars 
per share on certain conditions. It was proposed to construct 
the canal from Georgetown to the coal banks without delay. 
The estimated cost of this undertaking was two million, seven 
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 

Books were opened by commissioners appointed for the 
purpose at a second convention of delegates from the interested 
states and the District, and the requisite amount of stock was 
subscribed by June, 1828, at which time the stockholders for- 
mally organized and accepted the charter. The United States 
subscribed for ten thousand shares of stock and Congress au- 
thorized the District cities to become stockholders. They ac- 
cordingly took an aggregate of fifteen thousand shares. The 
amount of the subscription of \'irginia was only seven hun- 



* Canal records and proceedings, act.s, etc. 



312 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

dred and seventy-seven shares. These subscriptions, together 
with the stock taken by individuals, brought the sum total to 
thirtv-six thousand and eighty-nine shares, representing a cap- 
ital of three million, six hundred and eight thousand, nine 
hundred dollars. It had been estimated that the whole work 
could be completed to Cumberland on the scale at first contem- 
plated : namely, to afford the canal a width of forty feet at the 
top, twenty-eight at the bottom and a uniform depth of four 
feet, at a' cost of four million, four hundred thousand dollars. 
The dimensions, however, were afterwards increased, at the 
suggestion of the general government, to six feet in depth 
and the width to range from sixty to fifty feet. The route 
was selected and work commenced. 

While these measures were in progress, the people of Bal- 
timore because of iheir fears that the work would interfere 
with their prosperity and build up the District cities at their 
expense and their doubts as to the feasibility of constructing 
the lateral canal turned their attention to the construction of 
a steam railroad to the waters of the Ohio River. In Feb- 
ruary, 1827, a public meeting was called in the city and a 
memorial presented to the Legislature. It was asserted that 
the route of the railroad was the only practicable one and that 
it was shorter by one hundred and forty miles than that adopted- 
for the canal. It was argued that the railroad project could 
be put into effect at an expense of seven million dollars less 
than would be needed to complete the canal. A charter was 
granted by the Legislature for the construction of the road 
ten days after application had been made.* 

It was soon found that the best route was by the banks 
of the Potomac. This, however, had already been surveyed 
for the canal and presented hardly sufficient way for the con- 
struction of both works, where the mountains and the nver 
upon the Maryland side came close together. The railroad 
company procured the condemnation of the lands in that sec- 
tion in advance by means designated in their charter. The 
surveys and other proceedings were taken with such rapidity 



* Mayer's Historj' of B. & O. R. R., pp. 10, 30, 52 (note). 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 313 

that they were completed before the Canal Company could 
procure and serve a writ of injunction. A legal contest en- 
sued, which resulted in the success of the Canal Company, but 
a compromise was effected by which the Railroad Company 
was allowed to lay its tracks parallel with the canal to Harper's 
Ferry, at which point it crossed the river to the Virginian 
(now West Virginian) shore. Several years elapsed before 
the settlement of this vexatious dispute, which considerably 
retarded the progress of both works. In order to bestow an 
equal encouragement upon the railroad, the State subscribed 
for five thousand shares of its stock, and authorized the city 
of Baltimore to subscribe for thirty thousand. 

The spirit of improvement had now taken hold of the 
Maryland people and projects of various sorts were advanced. 
A railroad was projected from Baltimore to York and a com- 
pany incorporated for its construction under the name of the 
''Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad." A branch of the 
Baltimore and Ohio was laid to Washington. With it was con- ' 
nectcd a lateral road to Annapolis. Large schemes for drain- 
ing, improving and canaling on the Eastern Shore were enter- 
tained, and on the Western, the rendering of the Monocacy 
navigable. A lateral canal to Baltimore and another to Anna- 
polis^ were dreamed of as accomplishments for the near future. 
The schemes which were actually undertaken were liberally 
subscribed to by the State, which thereby incurred a heavy 
public debt. 

In the meanwhile the progress of governmental reform 
showed as great activity as industrial development. We have 
seen that on the 6th of June, 1836, the dissatisfaction of Bal- 
timore city and some of the counties with the ratio of repre- 
sentation in its relation to taxation had culminated in a con- 
vention where concerted action was resolved upon. Delegates 
from Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, Frederick, Montgomery and 
Washington counties and Baltimore city assembled at Balti- 
more and adopted resolutions advising the people to elect dele- 
gates at the ensuing election pledged to introduce into the 
Legislature a bill to take the sense of the people upon the 



314 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

amendment of the constitution, and providing for the calling 
of a convention for that purpose in case a majority of the 
popular vote demanded it. They further proposed that the 
time for electing the delegates to the convention should be 
fixed as the first Monday in June, 1837, '^"'^^ that they should 
assemble on the 4th of July and prepare a constitution to be 
submitted to the people for their approbation at the October 
election following. They empowered their president to re- 
assemble the body if the Legislature failed to act upon the mat- 
ter within forty days "to take such ulterior measures as might 
be then deemed expedient, just, proper and best calculated 
without the aid of the legislature to ensure the accomplishment 
of the desired results."* The preceding Assembly had passed 
law^s which tended to enlarge the representation of the more 
populous districts, and which only needed the confirmation 
of the succeeding Legislature, to become effectual. Two addi- 
tional delegates were by these measures given to Baltimore 
City ; and the new county of Carroll was erected out of por- 
tions of Frederick and Baltimore, thus securing four more 
representatives to the people formerly embraced in those two 
counties. But this item of incidental reform, only made the 
reformers more urgent in their demands ; and the people 
seemed disposed to sustain fully the recommendations of the 
convention. 

But these movements suddenly took a most unexpected 
turn. The presidential election was approaching; the spirit of 
party was at its height, and it was scarcely possible that united 
action in favor of reform could long be looked for. The term of 
the old senate of Maryland was about to expire and the time had 
arrived for the election of a college of senatorial electors to 
choose a new one. Party spirit dominated the contest, and 
upon its close it was ascertained that, although the senate 
counted a majority of reformers, twenty-one Whig and nine- 
teen Van Buren electors had been chosen.* On the third Mon- ,y 
day of September, as provided bv the State constitution, the ^ 

— . ' y 

* " Brief Outline, etc., of The Nineteen Van Buren Electors." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 315 

electors gathered at Annapolis. Only twenty-one, however, 
qualified by taking the official oath. As the constitution re- 
quired the presence of at least twenty-four members to com- 
plete the organization of the college, nothing could be done. 

The nineteen Van Buren electors having met together in 
caucus determined, in accordance with instruction from sev- 
eral primary meetings to secure a majority of the senate 
"of a similar complexion with the people electing them and 
entertaining the same opinions and sentiments." That, as 
they represented counties which contained a large majority of 
the voters, it was right that they, although in minority in the 
electoral college, should have the nomination of eight mem- 
bers, this being a majority of the senate. Accordingly, they 
addressed a note to Mr. Heard of St. Marys, one of the 
twenty-one electors then sitting in the senate awaiting their 
presence to proceed with the business of the session. In their 
communication they exacted a pledge from the majority that 
they would select eight gentlemen, whom they should name. 
They declared that otherwise they would refuse to qualify, 
with the result that a senate could not be chosen. They af- 
firmed that the immediate consequence of such action on their 
part would be a disorganization of the government, so that 
it would became necessary to call a convention for the remod- 
eling of the constitution. Mr. Heard promptly declined to 
receive the letter or to present it to his associates. The latter 
also refused to hold communication with the nineteen, until 
they should have qualified according to the requirements of 
the constitution ; whereupon those gentlemen took the further 
revolutionary step of promulgating an address to the public, 
announcing their determination not to take part in the election 
of a senate. They set forth the reasons for their course and 
called upon the people of Mar\dand at once to elect six dele- 
gates, from each city and county, to meet at Annapolis, in con- 
vention, and form a new constitution. A counter address was 
immediately issued b}- the twenty-one. In taking such a radical 
stand the Van Buren electors rightly interpreted the people's 
desires, but they were wholly wrong in their confidence that 



3i6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the revolutionary proceedings they proposed would meet with 
sanction. The people of the State were not disposed to tamely 
submit to the inverting of the order or relationship between 
themselves and their legislative representatives. The electors 
were "mere agents of the people of Maryland selected for a 
specific purpose, the performance of a single and well-defined 
duty." They were besides "under the most sacred and solemn 
obligation to execute a trust faithfully and conscientiously. 
Therefore the people of the State were indignant at being 
approached "with a proposition of bargain touching the per- 
formance of their duty and made reply, 'we never for a moment 
entertained the idea of trafficking upon such a subject'."* In- 
deed the sudden and violent movement thrilled the State with 
excitement and alarm. It was pronounced by men of both 
parties as a commencement of a revolution, bloodless as yet, 
but which, if persisted in, must eventually lead to civil commo- 
tion and anarchy. It was everywhere felt that a crisis was at 
hand. State credit and public business were disastrously af- 
fected ; the minds of many were filled with forebodings, while 
those of firmer moods, on either side of the exciting question 
braced themselves for the struggle. 

Public meetings were convened in many places, and in 
Baltimore, the center of reform sentiment, a mammoth meet- 
ing was held at Monument Square, at which Hon. John V. L. 
McMahon spoke in behalf of a series of stirring resolu- 
tions endorsing the action of the Whig electors, "in a 
strain of unsurpassed eloquence and force." The strongest 
disapprobation of the course of the nineteen recusant electors 
was expressed and sentiments of strong attachment to peaceful 
and constitutional reform avowed by all of the speakers. Hav- 
ing nominated candidates for the house of delegates, they 
called on all good and true citizens to come forward at the en- 
suing election and by their votes prove their love of law and 
order. Similar proceedings were taken in Frederick, Wash- 



* Bernard C. Steiner, " The Electoral College for the Senate of Mary- 
land, and the Nineteen Van Buren Electors," House Documents, 
U. S.. Cong., vol. 62, p. 145. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 3i7 

ington and Alleghany counties ; and men of both parties pledged 
themselves to sustain the supremacy of the law. 

In the meanwhile, the supporters of the obstructing electors 
took measures to carry out the schemes proposed for assembling 
a convention. Meetings were called in several places to nom- 
inate candidates and a circular addressed to the people of the 
counties urging the execution of the project was sent out by 
a central committee from Baltimore. In fact, many delegates 
were elected by votes printed on bjue tickets, cast at separate 
polls, opened for the purpose on the day of the November 
election ; a proceeding in which the opponents of the move- 
ment took no part. 

The twenty-one electors continued at Annapolis, adjourn- 
inp- from day to day, patiently awaiting until a sufficient num- 
ber should qualify to enable them to proceed to business. They 
were at length joined by one of the nineteen, who qualified 
and took his seat. On the 7th of November, the presidential 
election took place; on the 8th, Governor Veazy issued his 
proclamation denouncing the proceedings of the remaining , ^^ (^ 
eighteen and their supporters; calling upon the people and ^ 
the militia to hold themselves in readiness to support the laW, 
and convened the old senate and house of delegates to meet 
on the 2 1 St of November, and solemnly proclaimed "that the 
constitution of the State must be preserved and the government 
maintained, as they then were, until altered, changed or abol- 
ished in the manner constitutionally provided for." This proc- 
lamation was cordially responded to in every part of the State. 
The people of Prince George's organized and equipped a com- 
pany of dragoons, under Major John Contee, and offered their 
services to the Governor to sustain the power of the law; 
but their aid was never required. On the 12th of the month 
another of the nineteen entered the college, and was followed 
in a few days by five others which permitted the election of the 
senate, and so the storm passed over. , 

The senate which was elected stood for reform. The lower, / 
house had advocated such action for several years and now no 
further obstructions were thrown in the way of the aesired 



3i8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

amendments. As the new senate had been chosen the 
old one called to convene at Annapolis did not meet. The 
deputies to the reform convention, however, still asserted the 
power to remodel the constitution in the way they had pro- 
posed. They met at Baltimore on the i6th of November and 
passed a set of resolutions declaring that the meeting of the 
General Assembly would render it inexpedient for them to 
take further action until it was ascertained what course would 
be pursued by that body. After expressing their belief that 
at no distant day a fuller convention than their own but with 
similar organization would be necessary, they stated the re- 
forms which they desired and adjourned to meet at Annapolis 
on the 1st Monday of January, 1837, unless otherwise notified 
by their president. Their adjournment was the act of their 
expiration. They never again met. It is of interest to notice 
the nature of the proposals they advanced. These were "the 
election of the governor by the people, and the abolition of the 
council ; the election of one senator from each county and the 
City of Baltimore directly by the people ; the re-apportionment 
of the house of delegates so as to do justice to the populous 
districts, and at the same time to give to the small counties 
and the City of Annapolis ample power to protect their inter- 
est; the abolition of all offices for life, the appointment of 
judges for a limited time by the joint action of the governor 
and senate ; the election of the clerks and registers by the 
people ; limitation and restraint on the power of the legisla- 
ture, in the grant of further charters, and the whole consti- 
tution to be so arranged and digested as to be free from un- 
certainty and obscurity."* 

When the Legislature assembled it immediately entered 
upon the work of reform ; the result of its deliberations was 
the adoption of most of the amendments contemplated by the 
reform movement. The governor was made electable by the 
people, his term of office was fixed at three years, and the 
State was divided into three gubernatorial districts, from each 
of which in turn he was required to be taken. The Eastern 



* " Brief Outline of the Nineteen Van Buren Electors." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 319 

Shore counties composed the first district ; Frederick, Carroll, 
Harford, Baltimore, Washington, and Alleghany counties the 
second, and the remaining counties with the City of Baltimore 
the third. The council was abolished and a Secretary of State 
provided to supply the place of the clerk of the council. The 
senate was entirely reorganized on the plan proposed in 1807 ; 
one member being assigned to each county and to the City 
of Baltimore, to be elected immediately by the people. The 
first election was to be held at the October elections of 1838, 
and in order that there might be a periodical change in that 
body, the senators first elected were to be divided into classes, 
by lot, who were to serve two, four or six years. Upon the 
expiration of the terms of the different classes their places 
were to be filled through new elections held in their respective 
counties, and the term of office of their successors was fixed 
at six years. So that, always thereafter, at each period of 
two years, one-third of the whole body would be elected by 
the people. Thus permanency in policy would be secured as 
well as frequent accountability of representatives to their con- 
stituents. The qualification of a senator was the same as that 
of a delegate, except that he should have arrived at the age of 
twenty-five years and have been a resident of the county or city 
from which he was elected for three years. 

The constitution of the house of delegates was materially 
altered. Five members were assigned to Baltimore City, and 
the same number to Frederick and Baltimore counties. 
Four each were given to Anne Arundel, Dorchester, Somerset, 
Worcester, Prince George, Harford, Montgomery, Carroll, and 
Washington, and three to each of the remaining counties. An- 
napolis was assigned one. This arrangement was only in- 
tended to last until after the official promulgation of the census 
of 1840, when, and also at every second census thereafter, the 
number of delegates was to be apportioned upon a specified 
basis. This was that every county with a population of less 
than fifteen thousand according to the federal returns, should 
elect three delegates ; every county with a population of fifteen 
thousand, and less than twenty-five thousand, should elect four 



320 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

delegates, while every county with a population of twenty-five 
thousand and less than thirty-five thousand should be entitled 
to five delegates. Those counties having a population above 
thirty-five thousand should be entitled to six delegates and 
Baltimore City as many as the most populous county. After 
the year 1840 the City of Annapolis was to lose its separate 
representation and to be considered a part of Anne Arundel 
county. 

The term of service of county clerks and registers of wills 
was reduced to seven years and their appointment conferred 
upon the governor who was to act by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate. These alterations were all con- 
firmed at the ensuing session of the Legislature, and became 
portions of the constitution. The movement of the nineteen 
recusant electors although repugnant to the constitution had 
brought to settlement questions which had long divided the 
sentiments of the people, but more positively of their repre- 
sentatives in the State Legislature. The disputes of more than 
half a century had now become composed. The unparalleled 
boldness of these nineteen radicals had shaken the very founda- 
tions of the government and of itself had shown the need to 
some precautionar}' change in the constitution in order that at 
no future day a body of men by their independent action 
should be able again to arrest the machinery of government. 
The danger of vesting too great powers in the hands of a few 
had become apparent. Although the motives of the projectors 
of the revolutionary movement were assailed by opponents as 
corrupt and their measures as designed to secure the ascend- 
ency of their party in the state, there is no reason to believe 
that they are not to be credited with a measure of the lofty 
purpose for the regeneration of the constitution which was 
attributed to them by their friends and supporters. 

Having considered the rapid movement of constitutional 
progress we can turn our attention to industrial matters. The 
canal was already completed some distance beyond Harper's 
Ferry when its resources failed. The national government 
determined to withdraw its assistance and Virginia also de- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 321 

clined to give it further aid. Maryland was placed in the posi- 
tion of being responsible for the continuance of the work if 
the project was not to be abandoned before the mineral re- 
sources of the western part of the state could be tapped. An- 
other canal convention was called to meet at Baltimore in 
December, 1834. It was attended by many delegates from the 
several interested states. They directed estimates to be made 
of the amounts necessary to complete the canal and the York 
Railroad and a memorial to be presented to the ensuing legis- 
lature asking assistance.* The estimates were two millions 
of dollars for the canal and one million for the railroad. The 
legislature granted their prayer and directed the state treas- 
urer to issue the necessary amount of bonds bearing an interest 
of six per cent., which should not be sold at less than fifteen 
per cent, above par. This premium was to be invested in good 
stocks to form a sinking fund for the payment of the bonds 
when due. The tolls of the works were pledged for the pay- 
ment of the interest on the loan. 

It soon became apparent that the two million dollars esti- 
mated as necessary to complete the canal to Cumberland was 
entirely inadequate, and "aid was given by Maryland in the 
famous eight million dollar bill passed June 4, 1838. In ac- 
cordance with the provisions of this act the canal compan}' 
received three million dollars."* The bill provided for a sub- 
scription of three millions to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 
three millions to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, half a mil- 
lion to the INIaryland Cross-cut Canal, half a million to the 
Annapolis and Potomac Canal and one million to the Eastern 
Shore Railroad. The Chesapeake and Ohio's share of the 
eight million loan, proving unsalable in England, had to be con- 
verted by a subsequent legislature into five per cent, bonds. The 
difficulties of the company were added to by the panic of 1837, 
during which specie payment was suspended. Like an im- 
provident child, the canal company was again found humbly 



* History of Public Debt of Maryland, pp. 7-10. 

* Ward, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, J. H. U. Studies, Seventeenth 

Series, p. 109. 



322 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

petitioning aid from the Legislature at the session of 1838. 
With remarkable confidence in the jxjvver of the supplicant ul- 
timately to perform its promises, the Legislature granted a 
subscription to the amount of one million, three hundred and 
seventy-five thousand dollars. Even in those days of magni- 
ficent schemes and extravagant loans, the large and repeated 
issues of state bonds startled the Legislature ; particularly was 
this the case with regard to the eight million dollar bill. It 
was only after an adjournment of the Legislature in order that 
the delegates might feel the sentiment of their constituents, 
that the bill was passed at all. The amount of the State's in- 
terest in the canal in 1839 amounted to the enormous sum of 
seven million, one hundred and ninety-seven thousand dollars. 

In this liberal distribution of favors other companies were 
not forgotten. One million of dollars in state bonds were 
loaned to the Tide Water Canal Company, for the interest of 
which its tolls were pledged, and seven hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars to the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad 
to enable that company to assist in the completion of the York 
and Wrightsville Road. By this time the successive issues 
of state bonds had reached the appalling sum of sixteen million 
and fifty thousand dollars. Three million, two hundred thou- 
sand dollars of this remained in the possession of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad undisposed of. As long as the com- 
panies to whom these loans have been made were able, either 
from the profits of their works or the proceeds of the bonds 
v.'hich they sold from time to time, to pay the interest falling 
due upon those already issued, the people were not alarmed 
at the frightful load of debt. But at length the Chesapeake 
and Ohio Canal Company, having exhausted its resources and 
become involved in almost irretrievable ruin through issuing 
over half a million dollars in worthless scrip, was no 
longer able to meet the calls for interest. Other companies 
Avere in a similar condition. The prodigality of the State's 
expenditures for public works received a check of a nature 
which aroused the people to a consciousness of the bad char- 
acter of the investments which they had been making, when it 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 323 

was announced that by the ist of December, 1840, there would 
be a deficit in the State treasury of five hundred and fifty-six 
thousand three hundred and eighty-seven dollars and thirty- 
eight cents.* 

How was this deficit, almost double the annual revenue 
of the State, to be made good? Politicians shrunk from the 
idea of direct taxation as a solution. To postpone the issue 
for a while, it was proposed to apply to the payment of the 
interest that portion of the surplus revenue distributed by the 
United States, which had been received and set apart by Mary- 
land for the school fund, and its bank stock, representing the 
remainder of the proceeds of the Bank of England stock re- 
invested in the State. This temporary expedient could at best 
have met only two years' interest. The design was abandoned 
and it was resolved to have recourse to direct taxation. At 
the session of 1841 the Legislature, after seeking to-miaiijc the >)lVvU/vvu 
State's financial distress, was forced to recognize the gravity ^f 

of the situation and to have recourse to the only expedient 
available. On March 23, 1841, an act was passed, supple- 
mented in the following December, levying for the first year 
a tax of twenty cents on the hundred dollars of assessed value 
of real and personal property and for the three following years, 
twenty-five cents. It was expected thus to derive a revenue 
of four hundred and fifty-six thousand dollars per annum. 
Certain other laws productive of revenue were expected to 
realize two hundred thousand dollars more. When it is borne 
in mind that before the passage of the act of March, 1841, 
the citizens of Maryland had not in any previous year been 
called upon to pay more than sixty thousand, eight hundred 
and eighteen dollars in direct taxation, the effect of that levy 
can be well understood. It was contested upon all hands and 
the State found itself opposed and its efforts frustrated in every 
direction. To make provision for the payment of the interest 
accruing before any receipts could be expected from the new 
tax levy, the State treasurer was directed to borrow, upon an 
issue of bonds of the State, five hundred thousand dollars. 



* Governor's Messages, 1840-1844. 



324 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

The prostration of the canal company and the frequent 
failures to complete the work after repeated assistance by the 
State had thoroughly discredited the enterprise in the mind 
of the public. Propositions were made to dispose of the State's 
interest in this and other public improvements to the highest 
bidders, payment to be made in State bonds at their par value, 
although at the time they had depreciated fifty per cent. An- 
other scheme which found favor in many quarters was the 
compulsory transfer of the canal to the holders of the bonds 
in liquidation of the debt. Some few persons openly and 
avowedly promulgated the doctrine of the unqualified repudi- 
ation of the whole debt. The consequences of the State's bank- 
ruptcy were soon perceived in a pronounced corruption of 
public feeling. Several counties flatly refused to pay their 
taxes; collectors failed to act; and, in some places, the people 
even banded themselves together to resist the execution of 
the law.* The unsoundness of public opinion had, as we have 
observed, made ineffective the revenue measures, and the ma- 
chinery for their execution was rendered inactive. All the 
while the arrears of interest rapidly accumulated. 

Such a condition could not long continue and it is credit- 
able to the sounder judgment and truer morals of the more 
serious element of the people that the process of virtual re- 
pudiation was checked and public opinion educated to more 
healthy views. The repudiators became an ineffective mi- 
nority. The legislature elected in the fall of 1844, assembled 
at Annapolis the following December imbued with the deter- 
mination to restore the credit of the State and to pass such 
laws as might be necessary for that purpose. They were sup- 
ported and encouraged in their patriotic resolve by the newly 
elected governor, Thomas G. Pratt, who in his inaugural ad- 
dress recommended the passage of new revenue measures with 
stringent provisions for their enforcement. A certain degree 
of confidence was restored. Three years of taxation, discus- 
sion, opposition and gradual submission to its necessity dur- 
ing the administration of Governor Pratt's predecessor, Gov- 



* Short History of Maryland Public Debt (1845) 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 325 

ernor Thomas, had prepared the people for the policy of the 
new executive and, finding himself sustained by the trend 
of public opinion, he was enabled to point the way from the 
path of repudiation to the honorable restoration of faith in 
the State's fidelity. 

Public attention was once more directed towards the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, which showed renewed 
energ-y. The canal had been completed from Georgetown to 
Dam No. 6, fifty miles from Cumberland, and nearly all the re- 
maining space had been partially excavated. It required about 
a million and a half dollars to insure its completion. By this time 
the railroad had been constructed as far as Cumberland, but its 
available resources, like those of the canal, were exhausted. 
The president of the company made every efifort to sustain the 
work. As it had reached Cumberland and been brought into 
connection with the western trade and travel, it yielded suffi- 
cient returns to keep it from becoming so much involved as the 
canal company. Both companies renewed their efforts to 
reach the termini of their routes, — the railroad to the Ohio, 
the canal to Cumberland. 

In 1843 James M. Coale, who had been elected president 
of the Canal Company, by his well considered and active 
measures, gave a new impulse to the work. He effected an 
arrangement with the railroad company, by which he secured 
for the time the transportation of the coal trade from Cumber- 
land to Dam No. 6. In consequence of the measures adopted, 
a marked increase of tolls resulted and the economical admin- 
istration of the affairs of the company enabled it for the first 
time to meet its annual expenses from its revenues and, to 
some extent, to pay off the accumulations of preceding years. 
The completion of the canal and the restoration of the public 
credit were intimately related matters, the success of the one 
depending upon that of the other. Therefore while the Legis- 
lature, in compliance with the recommendations of Governor 
Pratt, had adopted prompt and efficient measures to meet the 
annual interest of the State without recourse to a direct tax, 
it was compliant to the earnest representations of Mr. Coale 



326 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

in behalf of the canal and, upon the loth of March, 1844, 
passed an act waiving the state Hens in favor of seventeen 
hundred thousand dollars worth of bonds, which were to be 
issued by the company at par in the event that a guarantee 
should be given to the company that for a period of five years 
after the completion of the canal, not less than one hundred 
and ninety-five thousand tons should be transported annually 
upon it. The energy of the company was directed to securing 
the guarantee and, aided by the exertions of the western coun- 
ties and of the District cities, it succeeded. Having received the 
approbation of the state's agents and the governor, a contract 
was made for the completion of the canal to Cumberland. 
After considerable difficulty, the funds were raised and in No- 
vember, 1847, ^vork was resumed. At about the same time 
the railroad company commenced its surveys to the Ohio. 

In the meanwhile the condition of the finances had rapidly 
improved. The measures adopted by the Legislature, although 
objected to for a time, overcame opposition through the ample 
success which attended them. Accumulated arrears of taxes 
were paid. Every county in the State hastened to redeem its 
credit and the efifects of the new spirit were evident in the 
increased value of Maryland bonds at home and abroad. Yet 
the interest of the debt was still discharged in certificates or 
coupons, which were received in payment of taxes ; but be- 
cause of their depreciation, the creditor of the State did not 
receive his full due. The condition of the treasury had now 
become firm and prosperous. Every year a greater sum was 
received than was needed to pay the current interest, and the 
surplus was devoted to reducing the arrears of former years. 
The governor, confident of the ability of the State to meet all 
of its liabilities, recommended the Legislature to fund the ar- 
rears, to repeal the coupon law and to resume cash payment of 
the interest upon the debt.* 

In the spring of 1847 this desirable measure was adopted. 
The arrears of interest during three years had been reduced 
from one million, four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to 



* Scharf, vol. 3. p, 214. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 3^7 

less than nine hundred thousand; and this sum was funded. 
The accruing interest for the three years was paid and the 
sinking fund largely added to with the prospect of the liquida- 
tion of the whole debt of the State in less than thirty years ; 
this too without the aid of the annual surplus which might be 
in the treasury. To Governor Pratt, whose wise recommenda- 
tions to the legislature had much to do with the adoption of 
the financial measures which rehabilitated the State's credit, 
was due the fact that on the ist of January, 1848, the State 
was able to resume the regular payment of its interest at home 
and abroad. The incoming governor, Philip Francis Thomas, 
in his inaugural address felicitated the State upon its financial 
reorganization. 

While the people of the State were occupied with the 
struggles for the reform of the constitution and constructive 
works, they were not unmindful of the interests of education. 
It had been the early pride of Maryland that its metropolis, 
the ancient city of Annapolis, in colonial days had won the 
title of the "Athens of America," and the people had long 
turned their attention to the fostering of education. But the 
provisions made in those times became entirely inadequate and 
schools and colleges were erected and sustained by public and 
private munificence. In 1812 the State Legislature made the 
fxrst serious effort to provide a fund for the encouragement, 
of primary schools. At that time the charters of the banks, 
were extended to 1835 and they were required to make annual 
payment of twenty thousand dollars, which was "pledged as 
a fund for the purpose of supporting county schools."* This 
sum was apportioned among the banks according to their cap- 
ital, and was equally divided among the several counties of 
the state. In 181 3 a change was made in the law, so that each 
bank was required to pay twenty cents upon every hundred - 
dollars of capital stock which it actually paid in. In 1816 nine 
"commissioners of the school fund" were appointed for each 



* Bernard C. Steiner, "History of Education in Maryland." U. S. 
Bureau of Education, Circular of Information, No. 2, 1894. Acts 
of Assembly, 1812, 1816, 1825. 



328 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

county to superintend the application of the money, and "a 
moderate tax on the wealthy for the education of the poorer 
classes of society" was imposed and constitutes the first resort 
to direct taxation for the maintenance of schools. 

The system adopted at that early date was subsequently 
much altered by local legislation and was finally superseded 
by the formation of the primary school organization in 1825. 
This was much more comprehensive. It provided for the ap- 
pointment by the governor and council of a state superin- 
tendent, an office which has recently been revived. Nine com- 
missioners of primary schools were established in each county, 
who were appointed by the justices of the levy courts. A 
number of "discreet persons," not to exceed eighteen, were con- 
stituted inspectors of primary schools. The commissioners 
were empowered to lay oflF, alter or regulate the school dis- 
tricts ; to receive the money apportioned to the county and 
divide it among the districts ; to hold property as a corporate 
body for the use of the primary schools ; and, with the inspec- 
tors, to examine and qualify all applicants for the position of 
teacher. The taxable inhabitants were directed to assemble in 
their respective districts upon notification by the commissioners 
and to choose a district clerk, a district collector and three 
trustees. The district meeting also designated the site for the 
schoolhouse, voted a tax upon the resident inhabitants for its 
purchase and the erection of a schoolhouse, which the trustees 
were to keep in repair and for which they were to employ quali- 
fied teachers and pay their salaries out of the money placed 
in their hands by the commissioners. They were required to 
report semi-annually to the commissioners, who in turn re- 
ported annually to the county clerk the condition of the schools. 
It was made the duty of the inspectors to visit the several 
schools quarterly at least and to examine into the proficiency of 
the pupils and the good order and regularity of the sessions. 
The powers exercised by the levy courts in the counties were 
vested in the mayor and city council of Baltimore for the regu- 
lation of the primary schools of that city. Finally the law 
erecting this extensive system was required to be submitted 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 329 

to the people and was to be in force only in those counties 
where a majority of votes were cast in its favor at the ensuing 
election. The revenues assigned for the purpose were to be 
divided among the counties and the city of Baltimore in pro- 
portion to their white population. 

This general school system was soon adopted in several 
counties, but the differing needs of localities effected a modifi- 
cation of its for better general adaptation. When the public 
debt of the United States had finally been paid off, Congress 
determined to distribute the surplus revenue among the states. 
Maryland invested more than six hundred thousand dollars of 
the amount which she received for the benefit of the schools. 
The interest of this money, with the former funds and new 
contributions from the banks, raised the amount annually dis- 
tributed from the State treasury for public education to sixty- 
five thousand, six hundred dollars. This system gradually 
went into general operation and in its essential features is still 
maintained. 

During the period which this chapter covers a number of 
events occurred which demand passing mention, either for 
their wide significance or for their immediate impression. Of 
such was the laying of the corner-stone of Washington Monu- 
ment in Baltimore on the 4th of July, 181 5, and that of the 
Battle Monument and the monument to Major Armistead. 
The first of these was erected after a plan by Robert Mills, 
and the money for its building was raised through a lottery, 
permission for the holding of which was obtained by several 
citizens from the State Legislature. The Battle Monument, 
erected to the memory of the slain in the battle of North Point, 
is the more closely associated with that notable battle by the 
date of the laying of its corner-stone, which was the 12th of 
September, 1815. The Armistead Monument was erected in 
a Gothic niche in the building at the rear of the old City 
Spring on Calvert Street, in Baltimore, now the site of the 
City Hospital. The laying of the corner-stones of these 
various monuments was attended by impressive ceremonies 
in each instance. 



330 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

As early as 1820 the use of oil for lighting began to be 
superseded by the newly discovered illuminating gas. A com- 
pany for the manufacture of the new illuminant was formed in 
Baltimore, and Peak's Museum, on Holliday Street, which 
building afterwards raised to the dignity of the City Hall, 
was the first structure in Baltimore so lighted. Many persons 
paid an admission fee for the privilege of viewing the new 
light. 

- In 1825 Maryland had the honor of again and finally re- 
ceiving General Lafayette as its guest. The man to whose 
devotion the country was so largely indebted for the inde- 
pendence which it had secured was shown every honor which 
an appreciative people could bestow. On the 17th of Decem- 
ber he came to Annapolis and was conducted to the statehouse 
by an imposing guard of honor, where addresses of welcome 
were tendered him in behalf of the corporate authorities, the 
members of the legislature and the people in general. 

Although Maryland was the original home of religious 
liberty in America, yet until the year 1826 no Jew was allowed 
to hold any ofiice either civil or military under the state gov- 
ernment. The history of the agitation for the enfranchisement 
of the Jews is an interesting record of a struggle for a right 
which to-day is so manifest that it is difficult to appreciate 
the grounds for its denial at any time. In fact the basis of 
such denial was the force of prejudice. In 18 18 a resolution 
was introduced into the legislature by Mr. Thomas Kennedy, 
of Washington county, providing for the appointment of a 
committee to examine into the justice and expediency of con- 
ferring upon persons professing the Jewish religion the same 
privileges that were enjoyed by Christians. A bill embodying 
the committee's favorable report suffered defeat. However, 
the issue was a live one, and came up at each succeeding ses- 
sion of the legislature until, in 1822, it triumphed. According 
to the constitution of the State, it was necessary that it should 
be confirmed by the legislature of 1823 before it could become 
a law. As the measure was extremely unpopular, many of 
those who had voted favorably for it failed of re-election. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 331 

Finally, at the end of the session of 1824, a bill to alter the 
constitution so as to afiford relief to persons from political dis- 
qualification on account of their religious opinions again passed 
the Assembly. This bill was ratified by the Assembly of 1825, 
and by it the Jews attained the status of freemen in Maryland. 
From that time on Jewish names in the city council of Balti- 
more, the State Legislature and in connection with the various 
public offices became a familiar fact. 

In 1844 telegraphic communication was inaugurated by 
the construction of a telegraph line between Baltimore and 
Washington. Samuel Finley Breese Morse had exhibited a 
working model of telegraphy in 1835 and received a patent for 
the same in 1837, followed by an appropriation by Congress 
of fifty thousand dollars for the construction of an experi- 
mental line. One of the first messages sent over the newly 
installed line contained the announcement of the nomination-^ 
of James K. Polk for President of the United States by the 
Democratic National Convention then in session in Baltimore.'^ 

From colonial days much attention had been given in 
IMaryland to the cultivation of the soil. The State's natural 
wealth in this respect had induced an evil system of husbandry 
which was productive of the worst results. The author of a 
"Relation of Maryland," published shortly after the settlement 
of the colony, said that "the soil was generally rich, and in 
many places two feet of black rich mould with scarcely a 
stone, under which there v/as a loam ; whilst there was much 
ground fit for meadows and plenty of marl both blue and 
white." Tobacco and corn formed the staple agricultural pro- 
duce, and these two crops were raised alternately without due 
regard to the preservation of the soil by a judicious system 
of cultivation. The consequence was that the richest lands 
in time became impoverished and those of less strength, en- 
tirely unproductive. Wide tracts of "old fields" were thrown 
out into common, as their enclosures fell into decay, leaving 
a melancholy liqe of sickly verdure to mark where the slovenly 
"worm-fence" had stood and rotted. The neglected home- 
stead dropped into ruins slowly and steadily, and at length 



332 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

its owner, deserting his native state and all of its associations, 
migrated to the new lands of Ohio, Kentucky, or western New 
York. These desolate wastes met the eye in almost every 
portion of Maryland and excited the forebodings of men to 
whom the prosperity of their native state was dear. 

It was necessary that an effort should be made to arouse 
public attention to the agricultural evil and to awaken the 
husbandmen from their apathy. Agricultural societies were 
formed throughout the counties, a state association was organ- 
ized and an excellent journal was established to advocate the 
cause of improved agriculture. Men of enterprise turned their 
attention to the restoration of the barren wastes and as a 
result of their wise efforts and direction the "old fields" were 
renovated. The judicious use of lime, guano and composts 
soon restored them to almost their original fertility. Many 
of the streams of Maryland were brought into requisition for 
the running of mill wheels and to furnish power for the pro- 
pelling of other machinery, so that manufacturing plants 
became greatly increased throughout the state, and Maryland's 
commercial and agricultural importance rapidly advanced. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



ERA OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY. 



Upon the fourth of July, 184S, the Repub he of Texas was 
admitted to statehood, adding her "lone star" to the flag of 
the Union • an act, whieh, in view of the faet that Mex.co had 
never relinquished her elaim to the territory, was tantamount 
"declaration of war. Neither country shrank rom the 
encounter. General Taylor assumed a pos.fon opposite Ma a 
moras Hostilities were precipitated between tte two a m es 
Tv the murder of Col. Trueman Cross, of Maryland, quarter- 
master " eneral in the army, who, while riding out for exercse , 
:: atttclced by a company of bandi^. On the eleventh of ^^ 
Mav President Polk sent a special message to Congress, set 
Hng for h -that .'American blood had been shed upon American 
'2, aiKl that by the acts of her generals, Mexico had pro- 
claimed that hostilities had -™en« d. ^^^^^^^^ 

^n^erantl:^ aclTwrs'flTv'ed in Maryland by the issu- 
anc by Governor Thomas G. Pratt, of a proclama ion sum- 
ZZ the citizens of the Stat between the ages of eight n 
and forty-five to enroll themselves. John R. Kenly a Bam 
more ;lyer, opened a recruiting station in Ba timo , 
and the attractions of a campaign in the southwest 
fn be alf of the issue which centered about the erst- 
while ttle republic, whose name had become illustrious through 
Se fam of the deeds of Houston and that band of hardy p.o- 
*eersTo whose Americanism the acquisition of Texas is to be 
"red ted proved to be so strong that volunteers m large num- 
bers enrolled themselves for the patriotic cause.- The two 

■ ^ 333 

* Kenly's Memoirs of a Volunteer, p. 22. 



334 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

regiments called for from Maryland were not used, but the 
few men who were received into active service were organized 
into a body called the Battalion of Baltimore and Washington 
Volunteers. This was composed of six companies, four of 
which were recruited in Baltimore and two in Washington. 
Embarking on June 13th from Washington for Brazos Santi- 
ago, they proceeded from thence to Matamoras, and took up 
the line of march a hundred and thirty miles across the coun- 
try to Camargo, where they joined the army under General 
Taylor. They arrived at that place after eight days of inde- 
scribable horror, due to the extreme heat, the burning sand, 
the lack of water and the mismanagement of the quartermaster 
and commissary departments. 

On the first day of September, 1846, General Taylor was 
prepared to march with an army which both in numbers and 
in spirit proved sufficient for the achievement of victories 
which added glory to the American arms and thrilled the 
United States with enthusiasm. Arriving before Monterey 
on the 19th, he and his staff mapped out the plan of 
campaign. Approaching the city by a devious road through 
the mountains the Americans found themselves frowned upon 
by a gloomy citadel. The position of the enemy was an ex- 
tremely strong one. The road along which the Americans 
advanced brought them in such relation to the citadel and 
Fort Taneria as to lay them open to a scathing enfilating fire. 
Nevertheless, the Americans proceeded undaunted and, al- 
though many of their number fell under repeated and deadly 
volleys and their line formation was necessarily broken by 
reason of the obstructions to their advance, they made their 
way into the city, where they sought refuge from a fire unre- 
mitting and unerring. At the end of the first day's battle, the 
brigade of General Garland, of which the Maryland battalion 
formed a part, found it necessary to retire before the storm of 
missiles. Kenly, with his lieutenants, Schaeffer and Aisquith, 
made their way with the main body of the battalion out of the 
town under fire of the citadel which opened its guns upon them 
with redoubled fury. Colonel Watson and Lieutenant Oden 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 335 

Bowie, however, with a few of the men, becoming separated, 
sought another exit. They met Mitchell's First Ohio Volun- 
teers marching to the support of Garland and joining them, 
returned to the assault. Colonel Watson fell a few moments 
later, struck in the neck by a bullet and instantly killed. 

The city held out four days, although the second day's 
engagement went far towards determining the victory of the 
Americans.* On the 25th of September a tribute was paid 
to the valor of the Baltimore contingent of the troops when the 
flag which had been presented to the battalion by the patriotic 
women of Baltimore was unfurled in place of the Mexican 
colors which had flaunted defiance from the tower of the 
Bishop's Palace. It was not an empty honor which was ac- 
corded to the men of Maryland for not only had their valor 
been illustrious but their losses had been severe. Maryland 
had now dedicated itself to the patriotic cause by the deaths 
of Ringgold, Watson and Ridgeley. The first had fallen in 
the battle of Palo Alto, and the last, who had won the admira- 
tion of the army by his courage and the reckless exposure of 
his person to the fire of the enemy, met his death a few days 
after the fall of Monterey, by being thrown from his horscf 
Upon the death of Colonel Watson, Major Buchannan of 
the Fourth U. S. Infantry was assigned by General Twigg 
to the command of the Baltimore battalion. In assuming 
command he declared that "A native of Baltimore and a citizen 
of Washington, his only desire was to make the battalion 
worthy of the cities which sent it forth." Major Buchannan 
\WSLS a nian fitted by temperament for military direction and 
by education as well, being a graduate of West Point and 
having made a splendid record in the war of 1812 at the battle 
of North Point. On the loth of December the first division 
was reorganized for a march to Victoria, 200 miles to the 
southwest, and the Baltimore battalion was incorporated with 
it. By the 29th their destination had been reached and the 



*Kenly. pp. 95-IOO, 105-113, 121-132. 
fKenly, p. i6o. 



336 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

town taken. Baltimore's colors were again given the place 
of honor, waving proudly from the statehouse. On January 
the nth General Scott succeeded General Taylor in comlmand 
of the American forces in Mexico, the latter returning to 
Monterey to direct the operations of the army of occupation. 
Pressing on to Tampico and finding that place already in the 
possession of the Americans, it having been captured by Com- 
modore Connor of the Navy, General Scott marched his forces 
upon Vera Cruz, which fell on the 29th of March. The Balti- 
more battalion did not take part in this engagement, having been 
left behind as part of the garrison at Tampico, an assignment 
of duty regarded by the men as a high honor. The campaign 
on the Rio Grande had been ended on February 25th by the 
victory of Buena Vista, which not only added imperishable 
laurels to the renown of General Taylor but left General Scott 
free to operate from a new base. After performing garrison 
duty until the 30th of May, the Baltimore battalion was mus- 
tered out of service and returned home with a record of achieve- 
ment which won for them the gratitude of the people of their 
native state. On the loth of July, under fitting circumstances 
the flag which had floated from Monterey was presented to 
the city of Baltimore and accepted in behalf of its citizens by 
Mayor Davies.* 

By arrangement between the war department and the 
governor of Maryland, a new battalion was raised to take the 
place of the troops mustered out of the service, and upon his 
arrival in Baltimore Captain Kenly was commissioned major 
of the battalion, of w^hich Brevet-Major George W. 
Hughes, of the U. S. Army, was appointed by the President 
lieutenant-colonel. On the 24th of July the battalion sailed 
from Baltimore under command of Major Kenly. Arriving 
at Vergara August 26th, Major Kenly was assigned to the 
command of the forces at that point. On the ist of Septem- 
ber Colonel Hughes arrived, and upon the 6th the line of 
march was taken up to join Scott before the City of Mexico, 
On the 9th Colonel Hughes surprised the enemy at National 



♦Kenly, pp. 272-5. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 337 

Bridge, one of the strongest natural passes in Mexico, and the 
rendezvous of numerous guerilla bands. This effectually dis- 
posed of a system of irregular warfare which was a principal 
reliance of the enemy. 

On the loth of August General Scott moved to the assault 
of the City of Mexico with ten thousand men. It was a dar- 
ing undertaking, because of the natural strength of the city, 
its splendid fortifications and its garrison of select troops, 
under General Santa Anna; a force which numbered 35,000 
men. After a hot engagement lasting from the 12th to the 
14th and marked by many instances of courage upon both 
sides, the city surrendered. 

On November 5th the Baltimore battalion left National 
Bridge to join Scott at the City of Mexico, but on November 
the 22nd they were ordered to Jalapa as a portion of the gar- 
rison of that place. Upon his surrender, Santa Anna came 
into the American lines and the Baltimore battalion was as- 
signed to escort him to the coast.* On the 2nd of February, 
1848, the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. With 
the end of the war the active labors of the Baltimore bat- 
talion were brought to a close, but it could not at once be 
relieved of garrison duty, and not until June i6th did it leave 
for home, being mustered out of service at Pittsburg on July 
1 2th. The men were received with honors in Baltimore, and the 
State felt that although its numerical representation in the war 
had been small, its achievements were vastly out of proportion 
to its numbers. On the 29th of January, 1850, the Generaf 
Assembly passed a vote of thanks to its valiant troops. The 
territory which was gained by the United States through the 
war with Mexico was a gain in geographical area but it afford- 
ed new opportunities. for friction when the great issue of slav- 
ery extension sundered the counsels of a great and free people. 
Mai-yland's part in the acquirement of that territory was y 
indeed another contribution of the state towards that problem, 
but also towards the crowning glory of ultimate American 
union and progress. 

* Kenly, p. 391. 



338 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

As a result of the War with Mexico, General Taylor be- 
came the logical candidate for the presidency. Although it 
was conceded that his qualities were not those of the statesman 
but of the soldier, it was felt that he was worthy of the highest 
distinction that the nation could bestow and that the affairs 
of state might with safety be intrusted to him. The fact that he 
was a "no-party" man did not detract from his availability, 
but rather was a further reason for his general popularity. 
Maryland shared in the prevailing sentiment. Upon the 26th 
of April, 1843, a "Taylor State Convention," which was com- 
posed of prominent and influential gentlemen irrespective of 
party affiliations, met and put in nomination General Tayloi;. 
for the presidency of the United States. Although the general 
was induced to say that he was a Whig, the party managers 
derived little advantage from the declaration, for he insisted 
that "he would not be the president of a party but the president 
of the whole people."* When the new president made selec- 
tion of the members of his cabinet, Reverdy Johnson of Mary- 
land was tendered and accepted the portfolio of attorney- 
general. 

The great overshadowing question in Maryland, as well 
as throughout the country generally, was that which resulted 
in the break up of the old political parties and the recasting 
of affiliations — the question of slavery. The admission of Mis- 
souri into the family of states had brought the issue sharply into 
the national arena, and the sectional nature of the question of 
whether the applicant should be admitted with or without a 
slavery stipulation ranged the states of the North and those 
of the South into antagonistic camps. New England spoke 
in no uncertain tones for a prohibitory provision. On the other 
hand, Virginia and Kentucky as earnestly declared for the 
recognition of slavery. Maryland's sympathies v^ent with Vir- 
ginia. Nevertheless, the position which that state was to oc- 
cupy upon the gravest subject in the countrj^'s entire history 
was forecast by division of sentiment which was significantly 



* Rhodes Hist, of U. S., from the Compromise of 1850, vol. i, p. 99. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 339 

shown by an assemblage of citizens in Baltimore presided over 
by the mayor, which petitioned Congress against the further 
extension of slavery. The geographical situation of Maryland 
indicated for the State a neutral position upon the matters at 
issue. Her division of sympathies was consequently intensely 
acute. These facts make an recital of the place of the State in 
the mighty movements of the time more difficult than that of 
any other State in the Union. 

Until the issue of slavery took the form of a sectional 
question, Maryland's relation to the institution was not differ- 
ent from that of the other states which by reason of the nature 
of their industries became large employers of slave labor. 
Negro slaves had been brought into Virginia in the infancy 
of that colony and from there introduced into Maryland. The 
first slaves imported into Maryland were brought from Ber-. 
muda in 1634.* The first mention of slaves by the Maryland 
General Assembly was in 1663, at which time the planters 
were profiting greatly by slave labor. So much so in fact, 
that eight years later an act was passed to encourage their 
importation. The great influx of negro slaves, however, neces- 
sitated the passage of restraining legislation, so that in 1695 
the Assembly imposed a per capita tax of ten shillings upon 
all slaves brought into the State, the proceeds to be devoted 
to the building of a statehouse. A circumstance which greatly 
influenced the slave traffic in its relation to American develop- 
ment, and so influenced politically and economically the State 
of Maryland, was the treaty of Utrecht, by which Spain guar- 
anteed to England the monopoly of supplying negro slaves 
for the Spanish-American provinces. The importations of 
large numbers of slaves into those dependences made them 
bases of supply for the North American colonies. The negro 
population of Maryland continued to grow and various dis- 
ability acts were passed to arrest miscegenation and other 
evils.f In 1760 an act of the Legislature declared it im- 
possible for a negro to secure his freedom by becoming bap- 

* Rhodes, vol. i, p. 3. 
t Rhodes, vol. i, p. 11. 



340 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ized. Heretofore this had been popularly but erroneously 
supposed to afford an easy and rapid method of emergence 
from servile condition. 

Just prior to the breaking out of the American Revolu- 
tion in 1775, the negro population of Maryland was 20 per 
cent, that of the white, and this was about the same proportion 
that obtained in other of the British colonies.* By a British 
order in council, passed in 1770, the colonial governors had 
been instructed to assent to no law whose object was the re- 
striction of the importation of slaves, but in 1783 we find 
Maryland, keenly sensitive to the evils of a large servile popu- 
lation, putting upon its statute books an absolute prohibition 
of further importation of slaves. 

With the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratifica- 
tion of peace with Great Britain the American Congress found 
itself called upon to legislate for a vast territorial area which 
was ceded to the federal government by the several states 
which claimed it under their colonial charters. The cession of 
the Northwest Territory to the general government stands as 
a monument to Maryland's high conception of the Fed- 
eral Compact. As it was largely responsible for federal terri- 
torial sovereignty, Maryland was thus indirectly responsible 
for the creation of the great issue which in its finality threat- 
ened to sunder the Union. For it was in the territory thus 
ceded that the question of slavery became critical. Whether 
or not the aegis of the constitution should cover the institution 
of slavery in territory specifically national was the question 
that precipitated the great historical debates in the national 
'' forum and gave occasion for those decisions of the Supreme 

^\. Court which te^no small degree helped to precipitate the Civil 
War. In 1784 Thomas Jefferson introduced an ordinance 
providing for the prohibition of slavery into the ceded terri- 
tory after the year 1800. This proposed interdiction covered 
the territory from which was subsequently carved the States 
of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, as well as the 
Northwestern territory. The anti-slavery clause was, lost by 



* Bancroft, Hist. U. S., vol. 2, pp. 270, 290. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 341 

one vote, which circumstance drew from Jefferson an expres- 
sion which told how ardently devoted he was to the restriction 
of slavery. In a letter written two years later he said: "The 
voice of a single individual would have prevented this abom- 
inable crime. Heaven will not always be silent; the friends 
of the rights of human nature will in the end prevail." In 
1787 a substitute for Jefferson's act of 1784 was passed re- 
stricting the anti-slavery prohibition to the Northwest territory. 
It provided also for the yielding up of fugitive slaves. This 
ordinance partook of the nature of a compromise and received 
the support of the representatives of four of the Southern 
States. It was in no way regarded as an anti-slavery triumph. 
At this time slavery was regarded as a decadent institution. 
It had been abolished in seven of the states and the man would 
not have been regarded as fatuous who should express a con- 
viction that in his lifetime he would see Maryland, Virginia 
and Delaware free states. Although the evolution of senti- 
ment seemed to mark the end of slavery by a gradual process 
there was an industrial circumstance which fastened the insti- 
tution upon the Southern States with a tenacity it had never 
before possessed. This was the introduction of Eli Whitney's 
cotton gin.f Its contribution to the manufacture of cotton- 
fabrics made the cotton crop throughout the Southern States 
the great source of wealth of that section. Immediately there 
was created a great demand for cheap field labor which 
could not be met under the existing social economy except 
by the extensive employment of slaves. The talk of gradual 
self-purgement by the Southern States of the institution of 
slavery ceased. Maryland, bound by hooks of steel to her 
Southern sisters came under the influence of the revulsion 
of feeling and whatever prospect there had been that Mary- 
land by voluntary action would become a free state passed 
away. Nevertheless there was not wanting a party within 
the state to strenuously fight for the emancipation of the slaves 
of Maryland. In 1789 anti-slavery sentiment crystallized in 



t Rhodes, vol. i, pp. 25-27; Webster's Works, vol. 5, p. 338. 



342 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the organization of an abolition society.* This society rapidly 
increased in membership and in 1797 numbered two hundred 
and thirty-one persons including many of the best people of 
the State. It was then the third largest organization in the 
country. However meritorious was the purpose of the aboli- 
tionists of Maryland, the effecting of an organization with a 
strong arraignment of slavery and a declaration of a purpose 
to bring about its overthrow, served to correspondingly 
strengthen the position of those who did not share such senti- 
ments. 

Charles Carroll of Carrollton was one of those who bit- 
terly lamented the existence of slavery and although he himself 
was a large slaveholder, he would have been glad to have had 
some satisfactory plan adopted to relieve the country from 
the evil. He was especially concerned for the abolition of 
slavery in Maryland. In 1797 he introduced into the Senate 
of Maryland a bill to that end. It provided for a purchase by 
the State of all the female children of slaves who were to be 
educated to the point of appreciation of freedom and useful- 
ness and to be bound out until twenty-eight years of age, at 
which time they were to be given full liberty. At a given date 
all persons in servile condition under forty-five years of age 
were to be free. The bill however failed to pass. Washing-A 
ton was another of the illustrious men of his day who hoped 
to see Maryland rid of slavery and believed that it would come 
to pass.j But as we have already said, all such optimistic 
hopes were frustrated by the invention of the cotton gin. The 
session of Congress of 1820 marked the beginning of a bril- 
liant series of political orations unsurpassed in the history 
of public debate. To Maryland belongs the honor of having 
had one of her sons deliver a speech which although it was 
never printed, has come down to us in contemporary opinion 



* Maryland Journal, Dec. 15, 1789. 

t Letter of Washington, expressing his belief that Maryland and Vir- 
ginia would soon gradually abolish slavery. Spark's "Washing- 
ton," vol. 12, p. 326. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 343 

as one of the most thrilling ever delivered in the halls of Con- 
gress.f Senator Pinckney, to whom this reference applies, 
spoke against the imposition of the restriction of slavery on 
Missouri as a condition of its admission to statehood. Although 
Pinckney always made careful preparation, he sought to have 
his rhetorical periods have the air of spontaneous eloquence. 
A student of great application, he had the curious craving to be 
regarded as an elegant man of leisure, to whose natural genius 
alone was to be attributed his splendid forensic ability. 

An organization which sought to relieve the country of 
the incubus of slavery in a progressive and peaceable way had 
been organized in Washington in 1816. This was the Amer- 
ican Colonization Society. The purpose of the benev- 
olent gentlemen comprising it was the colonizing of the free 
people of color of the United States in Africa. It was pro- 
posed that as masters manumitted their slaves this society 
should secure their transportation to the free state they sought 
to organize in the dark continent. 

In 1 83 1 the Orion was fitted out by the State Colonization 
Society in Baltimore and sailed for Monrovia. It carried 
thirty-one emigrants. The scheme had taken hold upon the 
interest of the well disposed people of the State, and the Legis- 
lature made the annual appropriation of ten thousand dol- 
lars for twenty-six years for the transportation of emigrants 
and their care after their arrival. Thus Maryland gave an ex- 
hibition of practical effort for the welfare of the colored race 
and assessing itself above a quarter of a million of dollars in 
its behalf. Even at the time of its financial embarrassment 
when the interest upon the public debt could not be met, this 
annual appropriation was sustained. And at the expiration 
of the term for which the appropriation was made, the act 
was successively renewed for periods of six, four, and six years. 
At the expiration of the last extension the breaking out of 
the war gave another aspect to the problem. In respect to her 
interest in and expenditure for the colonial experiment and 
her laws permitting the manumission of slaves, in addition 

t Benton's " Thirty Years^ View," vol. 6, p. 20. 



344 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

to various statutes for the amelioration of their condition, 
Maryland, for a state whose affiliation and environment were 
Southern, must be credited with having taken high ground in 
her attitude toward the subject race. 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the effect upon public 
opinion in Maryland of the servile insurrection which was 
attempted in Virginia in 183 1 by Nat Turner, a fanatical slave^ 
of exceptional capacity, who, construing an eclipse of the sun 
into an omen, preached from it a crusade among his fellow 
slaves, exhorting them to rise and slay their enemies, who he 
declared had deprived them of their freedom. Maryland deeply 
sympathized with her sister state in the scenes of murder and 
distress which were thereby wrought. It was not strange 
that these social disorders were attributed to the preaching 
of abolition and it is highly creditable to the states concerned 
that although feeling ran high against those to whose influ- 
ence the negro unrest was attributed, they read in such dis- 
orders the portent of calamity and sought to rid themselves 
of the coils of slavery. 

The practice of kidnapping of slaves prevailed in the border 
states and led to interstate controversies, the merits of which 
came before the Supreme Court of the United States for de- 
cision through the case of Edward ^prigg, which was appealed 
from the Pennsylvania courts to that august body. In 1839 
^prigg had carried out of the State of Pennsylvania a colored 
woman named Margaret Morgan and her three children, who 
had fled from servitude in Maryland six years before. He 
delivered them to the claimant. For this Sprigg was brought 
to trial and convicted of the breach of a Pennsylvania statute. 
Justice Story delivered the opinion of the bench that the Penn- 
sylvania act was unconstituional and void for the reason that 
the constitution in the clause providing that fugitives from 
labor should be delivered up, thereby created a new right over 
which Congress had sole jurisdiction. Inasmuch as the clause 
was not in the state constitution and did not make demand 
upon the state authorities, the national government was bound 
to its execution, and the rights of the owner not being affected 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 345 

by state boundaries, he might seize and recapture his slave 
wherever he might be, provided that in so doing he did not 
make breach of the peace or commit an act of illegal violence. 
To this decision Qiief Justice Taney dissented upon the ground 
that it invalidated the act of Congress of 1793, which provided 
for the recovery of fugitive slaves through the agency of the 
proper judicial officers of the state in which they were appre- 
hended or those of the United States.* 

The organization of the American Anti-Slavery Society 
in 1833 in Philadelphia represented an attempt to give greater 
force to the advanced position of such abolitionists as Gar- 
rison and his associates. In the Declaration of Sentiments 
they drew up, the doctrine of abolition was fortified with argu- 
ment and brought by analogy into relation to the declaration 
of independence. Yet even that organization did not contem- 
plate national interference with slavery in the states. This 
meeting was looked upon by the people of the South and even 
by many of those in the North much as to-day an assemblage 
of anarchists would be regarded. 

During all this period of agitation and partly because of 
it there had been a gradual revolution of Southern sentiment. 
The apologetic tone towards slavery had changed to one of 
confident assertion that its perpetuation was bound up with 
the interests of that section. This new; attitude was strongly 
reflected by the Southern representatives in the national coun- 
cil. In 1840, William Cost Johnson, of Maryland, introduced 
the so-called "gag rule" in Congress, which effectually put an 
end to the reception of anti-slavery petitions.f A further sig- 
nificant sign of the massing of pro-slavery sentiment was given' 
by a convention of the slaveholders of the State, held at Annap- 
olis, in 1842. Feeling that their rights had been subjected to 
such serious attack as to demand from them some united 
action, they not only endorsed the institution of slavery but 
recommended to the Legislature more stringent laws in regard 



* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 326-7 ; Smith, Political History of Slavery, vol. 

I, pp. 66-69. 
t Rhodes, vol. i, pp. 69-70. Morse's Life of John Quincy Adam,s, p. 251. 



346 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

both to slaves and free negroes. By 1844 the pro-slavery 
sentiment in Maryland found concrete expression in the pass- 
age by the State Legislature of a series of resolutions in en- 
dorsement of slavery.* 

The question of slavery had come up in connection with 
the reform of the constitution in 1836. It was feared by many 
that the convention might touch the relation of master and 
slave and those vitally interested in the question took care to 
have an additional guard thrown around their rights. To this 
end a provision was engrafted upon the constitution "That the 
relation of master and slave in this state shall not be abolished 
unless a bill for that purpose shall be passed by a unanimous 
vote of both branches of the general assembly, be published 
three months before a new election, and be unanimously con- 
firmed by the succeeding legislature." Even then it was re- 
quired that full compensation should be made to the master 
for the property of which he would thereby be deprived. The 
insertion of this provision was due to the feeling of resentment 
engendered against the abolitionists because of their aggressive 
propoganda. Such was the constitutional position of Mary- 
land upon the subject of slavery at the time the "Wilmot 
Proviso" sounded the call of the sections to their hostile camps. 
As the whole subsequent history of slavery and the strife of 
the Civil War are related to that epoch-making provision, we 
may leave for awhile its consideration and take up a topic 
which, while only indirectly connected with the subject of slav- 
ery nevertheless forms an integral part of the political history 
of the period. 

The slavery agitation had been productive of a theory of 
nationality such as had not before been entertained by the 
people. The sturdy assertion of the doctrine of States' 
Rights was the answer of the Southern section of the 
country to the dogma of national supremacy. It is a curious 
circumstance, however, that coordinantly with the sentiment 
for State sovereignty there was awakened in some of the South- 



* Scharf, vol. 3, p. 328. 

fVon Hoist, "Constitutional History of the United States," vol. 3, pp. 
285-8. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 347 

ern States — together with the Northern — a feehng of conserva- 
tive nationaUsm which found expression in the 0(W political 
movement popularly known as Knownothingism./ It is also 
a singular circumstance that many of the leaders of this move- 
ment in Maryland, which was one of its strongholds, thereby 
became broadened out of their States' Rights attitude, and, 
when the great conflict was precipitated, abandoned their 
former position and fought for the preservation of the Union. 
For a number of years opposition to the vast increase of for- 
eign population due to immigration had been slowly taking 
form. In 1844 Baltimore contained about fifty thousand per- 
sons of foreign birth, one-fourth of its total population. The 
magnificent opportunities offered by the United States had 
turned thither a tide of immigration which, at first welcome, 
had subsequently become a source of irritation to many who 
saw in it a menace to the privileges of themselves and the 
safety of their posterity. It was seriously believed by a great 
many that it was a part of the policy of the European gov- 
ernments to send over to this country the undesirable elements 
of their population so as to weaken the national character as 
well as the national tie and thereby sow disorders in the coun- 
try. After the revolutionary outbreaks in Europe in 1848- 
great numbers of Germans came to America to await the pass- 
ing over of the storm and then to return to their own country ; 
they did not seek naturalization and some of them even vaunted 
that they would establish German states in the west and defy 
the government of the United States. These sentiments took 
on an alarming character in the popular imagination and 
opposition to them found expression in the halls of Congress, 
where many earnest anti- foreign speeches were delivered. 
Various German organizations were formed in Baltimore and 
other cities and schedules of "reforms" were promulgated, em- 
bodying the various demands of the foreign born elements of 
the population. These in the main reflected the socialistie^ 
opinions current in Germany and France. 

As early as 1844 the Baltimore Clipper had announced its 
advocacy of an American Republican Party in opposition to 



348 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

immigration.* This party was organized and in 1846 polled 
three thousand, three hundred and forty votes for a state ticket, 
and though it proved sliort-lived, the anti-foreign sentiment 
remained. Distrust of the large foreign clement in the State 
was greatlv intensified by the introduction in the Legislature 
in 1852, of a measure known as the Kcrney School Bill, for 
the division of the school funds between the public and paro- 
chial schools.f 

The rise of the Knownothing or American party is in- 
volved in obscurity by reason of the fact that for a long time 
members of its secret lodges would not admit its existence 
and when interrogated with regard to it would invariably 
reply "I don't know." This gave name to the movement. 
The first lodge in Baltimore is supposed to have been organ- 
ized in 1852. This secret party had for its tenets opposition 
to the progress of the Roman Catholic Church and the advo- 
cacy of a longer term of residence for foreigners, before ex- 
tending to them the privilege of naturalization. Its watchword 
was a saying attributed to Washington, "Put none but Ameri- 
cans on guard to-night." The Knownothings had vigorously 
opiDOsed the Kerney School Bill and under the title "The 
United Sons of America," had addressed a circular to the 
candidates for election to the legislature, asking them if they 
favored the passage of that bill. The Democrats would not 
commit themselves but the temperance candidates announced 
their opposition. Accordingly, a combination was effected 
resulting in the election of the entire city legislative ticket. 
The following year the Knownothings carried the election 
in Hagerstown and also put in nomination Samuel Hicks for 
Mayor of Baltimore, electing him by a majority of two thou- 
sand. "Unannounced to the public, unknown to the press, 
with no published account of its proceedings, no one possess- 
ing any information concerning it, except the delegates, this 
new party * * * met in a secret convention and put forth 



* Baltimore Clipper, Nov. 5, 1844. 

t H. D. Journal, 1852, pp. 607, 768 ; 1853, pp. 330, 577. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 349 

its condidates."* The election was characterized by great dis- 
orders in some of the wards ; the Democrats attempted to carry 
their ticket by the same discreditable measures which were 
employed by their opponents. The streets were paraded by 
the two parties who met at Fayette and Exeter Streets in a 
battle in which pistols, clubs and stones were freely used.-- 

It became impossible longer to disguise the existence of 
the party or to preserve secret its tenets or its personnel. In 
1855 the Knownothings came out as a distinct party, held a 
convention in Philadelphia and promulgated a platform.f Al- 
most every state in the Union was represented. All secret ma- 
chiner}' was abolished and the party went before the country 
with a set of principles which centered in a demand for "more 
stringent naturalization laws" and resistance to the "aggressive 
policy and the corrupting tendencies of the Roman Catholic 
Church." The reading of the Bible in the public schools was 
upheld and a declaration was made in favor of the existing 
slavery laws and denying the right of Congress to legislate 
upon the slavery question. 

In the elections of that year Henry Winter Davis, the 
Knownothing candidate for Congress from the fourth Mary- 
land district, was elected. The party carried thirteen counties' 
and the city of Baltimore. The clause of the Knownothing 
platform which gave most serious offence in Baltimore was 
that which declared opposition to the Roman Catholic Church ; 
many persons in the state who were pronounced Protestants 
did not favor an indictment against a faith which had given 
to Maryland the majority of its founders and had produced such 
peerless characters as Charles Carroll of Carrollton and Roger 
Brooke Taney. The Knownothing party denied the charge 
of intolerance, and asserted in its defense, that the Roman Cath- 
olic Church had identified its interests with one of the leading 
parties ; and that in various parts of the country its represen- 
tatives had been guilty of indiscretions which menaced the 
public school system, and v/hich had not been repudiated by 



* Schmeckenbier, History of Knownothingism in Maryland, 

Balto. Sun of Sept. 27 and Oct. 12, 1854. 
t Schmeck, pp. 21-22. 



350 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the authorities of the church. On the other hand, a declara- 
tion was elicited from the Archbishop and Bishops of the 
Province of Baltimore in which the strongest assertion of 
allegiance to the civil authority was made and the charge 
emphatically denied that the head of the church at Rome was 
regarded in any other than a spiritual capacity. The polit- 
ical atmosphere, however, was not cleared by these respec- 
tive declarations. The Legislature in 1856 showed an over- 
whelming Knownothing majority in the house although that 
party was barely strong enough to effect an organization in 
the senate. Hardly had the Legislature convened when Gov. 
ernor Ligon, who was a Democrat, sent a message to the body 
in which after reviewing the affairs of the State he added that 
he would be recreant to his duty if he did not call attention 
to "the formation and encouragement of secret political so- 
cieties."* He pointed out that some of the most cherished 
principles of the government were thus endangered and added 
"If on one hand we permit brute force to control the ballot- 
box and violence to deter the quiet and peaceably-disposed 
citizens from the exercise of their right of suffrage, or on the 
other hand allow a citizen to be proscribed on account of his 
religious faith we poison the very fountain of public security, 
our Constitution becomes a solemn mockery and the Republic 
a cheat and a delusion whose very essence is despotism." This 
part of the Governor's message raised an issue between him 
and the majority of the legislature and resulted in the ap- 
pointment of a committee to summon witnesses and receive 
evidence in regard to the Governor's charges, from which 
nothing, however, of material value resulted. 

The following year witnessed exciting scenes in Balti-\ 
more. There were riots at Lexington Market and the Wash- 
ington Monument. Four persons were killed in the melee. 
That year Thomas Swann, the Knownothing candidate, was 
elected mayor by a majority of seven thousand. Political clubs 
were numerous and on both sides were chiefly noteworthy 
for the number of reckless and desperate characters included 

* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 246-9 ; Schmeck, p. 50 ; Gov. Message, 1855. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 351 

in their membership. The following extract from the diary 
of Dr. L. H. Steiner, under date of October 8th, will suffice 
to give a picture of a situation which unfortunately was true 
not of a single day but in its essential features of that whole 
unfortunate period : "This has been one of the most disgrace- 
ful days for Baltimore. From early in the morning until very 
late at night, both parties have been drawn in deadly array 
against each other, and Plug Uglies and Rip Raps and Eighth 
Ward Blackguards have endeavored to see which could be 
vilest and most inhumane. The so-called American party 
seems to have the most villainous material in its composition, 
while the other side has never been deficient in that article. A. 
number of men have been killed to-day and over fifty wounded, 
more or less dangerously. At some of the polls, only such as 
were of the party predominating at the polls were allowed to 
vote. Affairs going on in this way and the elective franchise 
will become a humbug."* In view of tlie approaching state 
elections. Governor Ligon in 1857 addressed a letter to Mayor 
Swann, calling his attention to the disorders attending the 
municipal and presidential elections of the preceding year and 
asking him in view of the apparent inadequacy of the police 
department what further measures he would take to prevent 
a repetition of such scenes. Receiving a rebuff from the 
mayor, the governor issued a proclamation addressed to the 
citizens of Baltimore in which he reviewed the disgraceful 
occurrences of the year before and stated that in discharge 
of his duty to insure to the voter the rights guaranteed him 
by the constitution, he had directed the proper military author- 
ities to enroll and hold in readiness their several corps. 
The city was thrown into a high state of excitement by 
the Governor's proclamation and the mayor hastened to obtain 
legal opinions as to the validity of his action, as did Governor 
Ligon himself.f 

In compliance with the urgent appeal of a committee of 
citizens, the mayor issued a proclamation in which he set forth 



* B. C. Steiner, "Citizenship and Suffrage in Maryland," p. 39. 
t Scliarf, vol. 3, pp. 252-262 ; Schmeck, pp. 74-87. 



352 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

just what extraordinary provisions he contemplated for the 
preservation of order and honesty of elections ; which, being 
satisfactory to the governor, led to a further proclamation from 
him disavowing a purpose to place the elections under military 
control. The threat, however, had had a salutary effect and 
the elections were remarkably peaceful. The usual election de- 
vices, however, were resorted to and corruption was rampant. 
Hicks, the Knownothing candidate, received seventeen thou- 
sand, eight hundred and fifty votes as against eight thousand, 
two hundred and eleven cast for his opponent, Groome. The 
state vote went for the latter so that Hicks owed his election 
to his vast city majority. Mayor Swann was, at the same time, 
re-elected. The Knownothing party had reached the height 
of its power and the Reform movement which took aggressive 
shape in 1859 marked its downfall ; George William Brown, 
the Reform candidate, being elected mayor the following year, 
by a decisive majority.* iMeanwhile, the Knownothing move- 
ment was paralleled by the slavery issue by which it was finally 
overshadowed. In spite of its incongruities, it had aided in 
cultivating a larger national consciousness and at its dissolu- 
tion the majority of its members passed into the new Repub- 
lican party. In this way Knownothingism contributed to swell 
the numbers and to increase the forcefulness of that element 
of the State that stood for the strengthening of the national 
tie. At the same time the gross disorders which brought dis- 
repute upon Baltimore during the period of party animosity 
pointed the way to the appreciation of a purer electorate. t 

When William Pinckney delivered his famous speech in 
the Congress of 1820, he brought to a sharp issue the question 
of whether Congress had the right to refuse admission of a 
State and whether if admitted, it ha,d authority to impose upon 
it discriminating conditions. He declared that to impose on 
Missouri slavery prohibition, would be to shackle it with a 
condition of statehood, foreign to the letter and spirit of the 
Constitution. The argument so cogently put, was answered 



* Schmeck, p. 113; Balto. Sun and American, Oct. 20, i860, 
t Schmeck, p. 115. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 353 

by the adoption of the famous Missouri Compromise, by which 
that state was admitted without anti-slavery restriction, but 
with the declaration that slavery should forever be prohibited 
in that part of the Louisiana Purchase which lay north of the 
latitude 36° 30', excepting the portion included within the 
boimds of the proposed state. This Compromise was regarded 
as a Southern concession and indeed the right of Congress to 
fix the status of newly created states was unanimously agreed 
to by the brilliant men who composed the President's cabinet. 
Among these was William Wirt of Maryland. 

The close of the war with Mexico again raised to prime 
importance the question of the status of acquired territory 
with regard to the subject of slavery. Mr. Brinkerhoff, of. 
Ohio, drew up a proviso, extending to any territory which 
might be acquired by the United States through its war with 
Mexico, the prohibition of slavery, which was based upon 
the Ordinance of 1787. As this proviso was offered by Mr. 
Wilmot of Pennsylvania, it received his name.f This proposal 
led to the famous Compromise of 1850, which was offered by 
Henry Clay, who, now an old man, had once more returned to 
the senate. His passage to Washington was in the nature of 
a continuous ovation. At Baltimore he made an address of 
some length in which he gave expression to views afterwards, 
embodied in his Compromise. He expressed the opinion that 
under no circumstances was slavery likely to be introduced into 
California or New Mexico. In the senate this opinion took 
the form of one of a set of resolutions, which among other 
things declared "that as slavery does not exist by law, and is 
not likely to be introduced into any of the territory acquired 
by the United States from the Republic of Mexico, it is inex- 
pedient for Congress to provide by law, either for its introduc- 
tion into, or exclusion from any part of the said territory." 
The bill embodying the Clay resolutions provided for the ad- 
mission of California with a free state constitution, the estab- 
lishment of territorial government for New Mexico and Utah, 
without the Wilmot Proviso, the settlement of the boundaries 



t Smith, vol. I, p. 83. 



354 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of Texas, as well as for an efficient fugitive slave law and the 
prohibition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia. 
Although this omnibus bill, as it was called, failed of passage, 
its provisions were enacted in separate measures.* 

The country did not have to wait long for illustration of 
the working- of the fugitive slave law. Edward Gorsuch, a 
resident of Baltimore county, accompanied by friends, his son 
and a United States officer, all heavily armed and bearing the 
warrant of a commissioner at Philadelphia, went to Christiana, 
Pennsylvania, to effect the arrest of two negroes who had fled 
from servitude three years previous. When they attempted 
to apprehend the men they were opposed by a party of free 
negroes, who fired upon the posse, killing Mr. Gorsuch and 
seriously wounding his son.f From' fifty to one hundred 
negroes joined in the defence of the fugitives, so that the 
aft'air assumed the dimensions of a small-sized riot. The men 
whom the posse sought to arrest made good their escape. Im- 
mediately, under orders from the President, the United States 
marshal, district attorney and commissioner from Philadelphia, 
with forty-five marines from the navyyard, hastened to the 
scene of disorder. This force was augmented by a large body 
of special constables and the country was scoured, with the 
result that twenty-four arrests were made of persons supposed 
to have been implicated, two of them white and the rest col- 
ored. The white men were brought to trial for treason and 
acquitted. The other prisoners were never tried. The effect 
of this decision upon Maryland was to excite the minds of the 
people and to call forth an inflammatory appeal from the Gov- 
ernor to the Legislature.^ 

The famous Dred Scott decision is too familiar to need 
recital other than a sketch of its salient features. Its import- 
ance lies in the fact that it was made an abstract political 
question and evoked from a son of Maryland, Roger B. Taney, 



* Rh., vol. I, pp. I, 122-129, 147. 

fScharf, vol. 3, p. 323] Rh., vol. i, pp. 222-4; Smith, vol. i, p. 147. N. Y. 

Tribune, Sept. 15, 1851. 
tScharf, vol., 3, 334>>. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 355 

one of the few great historic decisions of the Supreme Court 
of the United States. Dred Scott had been taken by his 
master, an army surgeon in Missouri, to Rock Island, at that 
time in the portion of the territory of Wisconsin which had 
formerly been a part of the Louisiana Purchase, where with 
the consent of his master he had married. On returning to 
Missouri several years later, Scott brought suit in the local 
court of St. Louis to recover the freedom of himself and his 
family. The decision was in his favor. Whereupon his master 
appealed to the State Supreme Court, which reversed the de- 
cision of the lower court. Scott was later sold to a citizen 
of New York, and sued for his freedom in the United States 
Circuit Court. The case was decided against him and he took 
an appeal to the Supreme Court. The decision of 
this body was that Scott being of African descent, 
was not a citizen of Missouri in a constitutional sense 
and therefore the case w^s not within the purview 
of the United States Circuit Court. In a learned opinion Chief 
Justice Taney reviewed the constitutional aspects of the case 
in their political relations and declared that, as slaves had been 
recognized by the Constitution as property, Congress was 
bound to protect their possession rather than prohibit their 
presence in the territories. This opinion, which declared in- 
valid the Missouri Compromise, carried the point of the South- 
ern contention to its maximum value and evoked from the 
North a storm of violent protest.* It is but fair to the memory 
of the eminent jurist to repudiate the perversions of his mean- 
ing in his famous expression that the African race in the United 
States possessed "no rights which the white man was bound 
to respect." Chief Justice Taney was a man of high character 
and humane sentiments and was far from sharing the too- 
prevalent opinion of the day that the negro was below the 
human plane, or that he was not to receive the considerate 
treatment to which his humanity entitled him and for which 
his unfortunate status made eloquent appeal. The real mean- 



* Rh., vol. I, pp. 250-270; Smith, vol. i, pp. 245-9. 



356 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ing of the words ought not to have been missed by any fair- 
minded person. They simply set forth the incontrovertible 
fact that, as related to the rights guaranteed by the consti- 
tution, the negro was an extraneous person. 

In the high state of public excitement over the slavery 
issue, it was impossible for general feeling not to be influenced 
and swayed by appeals directed solely to the passions. Many 
books, pamphlets and addresses were published by intemperate 
persons in the North which grossly libeled the people of the 
South and evoked in response violent declarations which were 
undisguisedly seditious. A publication of this kind which 
achieved the distinction of violent antipathy from the South 
and which in a sense became a political issue in Maryland, was 
Helper's "Impending Crisis." It was an economic argument 
against slavery from the point of view of the non-slaveholding 
white. It undertook to give a description of the Southern 
slaveholders, their social and private lives and to point the 
way, by its black portrayal of the Southern situation and feel- 
ing, to the liberation of slaves regardless of any consideration 
other than the accomplishment of that fact. The book was 
an economic arraignment of slavery, and contended for its 
abolition not from humane motives, but from a desire to lift 
from the white labor of the South the crushing incubus of 
slave-labor competition. The state of feeling in Maryland 
with regard to Helper's book was reflected the year after its 
appearance in the Police Reorganization Bill for Baltimore 
City, which passed the legislature and contained a provision 
that "no Black Republican or indorser of Helper's book shall 
be appointed to any position by said board."* 1859, the year 
in which Helper's publication appeared, witnessed the attempt 
of John Brown to incite a servile insurrection in Virginia and 
Maryland. This futile effort to spread revolt among the slaves 
of the vicinity of Harper's Ferry, the scenes of violence which 
resulted, the movement of troops, and the execution of Brown 
and some of his misguided followers, thrilled the country and 



* Act i860, ch. 7, sec. 6. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 357. 

more than any other single circumstance led the nation to real- 
ize the dark and forbidding chasm which lay before it* 

In the excited state of public feeling the Democratic 
National Convention convened at Charleston, South Carolina, 
June 23, i860. It represented a house divided against itself. 
Democratic councils were made discordant by the issue which 
recognized as sacred no association or tie which could not 
stand its test. It was impossible for the committee on resolu- 
tions to effect an agreement and therefore a majority and a 
minority report were presented. The former declared that it 
was the duty of the federal government to protect when nec- 
essary slavery in the territories. The slogan of the Southern 
Democracy in the convention was "slavery is right and it ought 
to be extended." On the 9th of May a party of mediation 
styling themselves the Constitutional Union party and em- 
bracing the remnant of old-line Whigs and Americans, met 
in convention at Baltimore. It was a gathering notable for its 
high respectability, as well as ability. It was noticeable for 
the all-but-total absence in it of young men. It was inspired by 
a patriotic spirit ; and, alarmed at the growth of sectional feel- 
ing, its appeal was to those matters in common between all 
lovers of their country, it went before the people upon the sim- 
ple platform "the Constitution of the country, the union of the 
States and the enforcement of the laws." It put in nomination 
Bell, of Tennessee, for President and Everett, of Massachu- 
setts, for Vice-President.f In the meanwhile the strife of the 
Charleston Convention echoed throughout the country and 
was heard in the United States Senate, where the principles 
of both Douglas and Davis sections of the Democratic party 
were urged with great eloquence and vehemence. 

The Democrats, after the disagreement at Charleston, 
had adjourned to meet in the Front Street Theater, Baltimore, 
where it was found impossible to harmonize the factions and 
the minority withdrew to the Maryland Institute and there 



* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 341-4 ; Rh., vol. 2, pp. 161, 165, 236, 354, 394, 404. 
fScharf, vol. 3, p. 355; Smith, vol. i, p. 293. 



358 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

nominated Breckenridge as their candidate.* The regulars, 
left free to carry out their program, affirmed their platform 
and named Stephen A. Douglass as their standard bearer. 

The Republican National Convention was held at Chicago, 
and Abraham Lincoln was tendered and accepted the nomina- 
tion for the Presidency.!^ 



''Scharf, vol. 3, p. 354; Rh., vol. 2, p. 473. 

fRh., vol. 2, pp. 456-472 ;''Smith, vol. i, pp. 284-292; Blaine's "'Twenty 
Years in Congress," vol. i, p. 164. 



CHAPTER XX. 



A BORDER STATE IN THE CIVIL STRIFE. 

The growth of secession sentiment in the cotton states 
was strengthened by the nomination of Abraham Lincoln upon 
an anti-slavery-extension platform which involved the practi- 
cal repudiation of the Supreme Court decisions. Particularly 
in South Carolina, where chronic disaffection had for a long 
time existed, the course of events and the tide of feeling had 
become ominous. It there found culmination in the unfurling'' 
of the "palmetto" banner upon the 26th of November, i860. 
On the 20th of December, the South Carolina Convention 
passed the Ordinance of Secession, and, in commenting upon 
this action, the Charleston Mercury, voicing the sentiment of 
the people of the state, observed, "The tea has been thrown 
overboard— the revolution of i860 has been initiated."* Thus 
was that state by its deliberate action constituted the leader 
of the secession movement and the irresponsible unfurling 
of the "palmetto" flag by some hot-headed individuals a month 
before given the seal of official action. To an invitation ex- 
tended by some South Carolina volunteers to the people of 
Maryland to enroll themselves under the new flag, the Balti- 
more Exchange, the leading Southern journal of the city had 
made response, "Most of all do we protest against any enroll- 
ment of any portion of our people, no matter how insignificant, 
under the 'palmetto' banner. The good old blood of Maryland 
is a wine that needs no such bush. If ever— which God forbid 
—a time should come when our people would be unwilling to 
let the flag of the Union float over them, Maryland has a ban- 

*Rh vol 3, pp. 114-7; Crawford. "History of Fort Sumter," pp. 45-50- 

359 



36o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ner of her own, red with the glories of the Revolution, and 
well known to South Carolina, which she can unfurl and be 
proud of its memories, though she sorrow over the need of 
its return." 

Maryland's position as a border state had made it a prin- 
cipal ground of sectional strife. A slave-holding state, with 
strong devotion to the Union, and confident that in the 
constitution wisely interpreted was to be found a sufficient 
solution of difficulties wdiich had grown to appalling propor- 
tions through intemperate leadership and virulent utterances 
within and without the national legislature, she was in no mood 
to look upon the destruction of the Union as a panacea for the 
national disorders. Her contributions to that Union had been 
too great and too significant for her to belie her history by 
repudiating the Federal Compact. There were not wanting 
many serious-minded men in her councils who looked back 
to the formative period of the national commonwealth and saw 
in Maryland's sturdy advocacy of the cession to the national 
government of the vast w^estern territory a sacred obligation 
thereby imposed upon her to maintain the coherence of the 
Union whose life was now threatened by issues which had 
largely arisen in that very territory which indicated the high- 
water mark of Maryland's national appreciation. Strong as 
were Maryland's southern sympathies, four-fifths of the people 
of the State regarded the attitude of the cotton states as radical 
and ill-advised. It was deemed important, however, that as the 
other border states had declared their convictions, Maryland 
likewise, should leave no room for doubt as to her position 
upon the great issue. In the face of the petition of a large 
number of the citizens of the State, Governor Hicks, steadfastly 
declined to convene the Legislature, upon the ground that it 
would not faithfully reflect the sentiments of the majority of 
the people. He feared that to make the Republican program 
an occasion for the calling of an extra session of the Legislature 
would be to invite the adoption of some revolutionary measure 
adverse to the conservative and safe position which Maryland 
had heretofore maintained. Personally, Governor Hicks, by 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 361 

all the earlier associations and traditions of his life was a 
States' Rights man. Nevertheless, his prominent identification 
with the Knownothing movement had led him to commit him- 
self to the idea of conservative nationalism to a degree that 
raised his appreciation of his duty to the country at large above 
all other considerations. Swayed by the conflicting emotions 
of duty to his country and devotion to his section, he, of neces- 
sity, made himself subject to misunderstandings and attacks; 
But when the issue of the times ranged the men of Maryland 
upon one or the other side, Governor Hicks' position was no 
longer ambiguous. He cast his fortunes with those of the 
Union.* 

The Hon. S. Teackle Wallis was one of the foremost oppo- 
nents of Governor Hicks in his refusal to convene the Legisla-, 
ture. Mr. Wallis was a constitutional unionist ; neverthe- 
less, he was a thorough believer in the right of 
peaceable secession and when the war left him no alterna- 
tive action, he allied himself with the cause of the Confed- 
eracy, throwing the onus of his action upon the Federal Gov- 
ernment, whose denial of the right of peaceable withdrawal- 
from the Union on the part of the dissatisfied states led him 
and many thousands of Marylanders to oppose the government 
which they would otherwise have been glad to have upheld. 

In the excited condition of the public mind, rumors of 
all sorts of dire plots took hold of the popular imagination and 
became greatly exaggerated even in cases where they had 
some actual basis of fact. It was asserted that a plot was 
afoot to prevent the inauguration of Lincoln. Another story 
passed from mouth to mouth that the capital was in danger 
of seizure and it was seriously believed by Governor Hicks 
and many others that a well-devised plot for the assassination 
of President Lincoln on his passage through Baltimore had 
been formulated. These rumors took hold upon the minds 
of all those who were ready to give credence to what- 
ever tallied with their own belief as to the motives and 
methods of their adversaries. Seward is found writing in a 



*Rh., vol. 3, p. 301. 



j62 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

confidential letter, "Treason is all around and amongst us 
and plots [exist] to seize the capital and usurp the govern- 
ment." "One friend came in this morning to tell me," he 
wrote, later, "that there are two thousand armed conspirators 
in the city, and the mayor is secretly with them."* Such 
apprehensions were not unnatural in the light of views like 
those to which the Richmond Enquirer gave expression : "Can 
there not be found men brave enough in Maryland to unite 
with \'irginians in seizing the Capitol at Washington?"! 

Upon the convening of Congress on the 3rd of December, 
i860. President Buchanan transmitted to that body a mes- 
sage in which he called attention to the perilous condition 
of the country, whereupon one of the Virginia representatives 
moved the reference of that part of the document to a special 
committee comprised of one representative from each of the 
states. Hon. Henry Winter Davis, of Maryland, was the rep- 
resentative of that State. The senate also deemed that portion\ 
of the President's message worthy of special consideration and 
referred it to a select committee of thirteen, the membership 
of which represented all the political elements of that body. 
This attempt to reach some positive conclusions was unfruitful, 
and no better results were derived from a Peace Convention 
which was called by the governors of fourteen states and which 
was in session from the 4th to the 27th of the following Feb- 
ruary.:!: This convention was remarkable for the number of 
able and representative men which it included. Among those 
from Maryland were Reverdy Johnson, Augustus W. Brad- 
ford, William T. Goldsborough, John W. Crisfield and J. Dixon 
Roman. All these attempts to stem the tide failed because 
the time for compromise had passed. The feeling on the re- 
spective sides of the great issue had gone too far towards 
crystallization for the effective working of those affinitives 
which at one time might have served to hold the sections 
tosrether. 



* Rh., vol. 3, p. 300. 

t Richmond Enquirer, Dec, 25, i860. 

^Cambridge Modern History, vol. 7, p. 448. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 363 

The issue had passed from the compromise to the apolo-, 
getic stage. The respective factions now sought to vindicate 
their positions. Their appeal was no longer for Union as be- 
tween themselves, but for the collection of all persons and 
concentration of all forces representing their particular views. 
On the loth of January, 1861, two meetings were held in Bal- 
timore which were significant of the divided sentiment and posi- 
tion which Maryland was to hold in the coming civil strife. The 
one was a convention of Union sympathizers, which endorsed 
the position of Governor Hicks in declining to call a special ses- 
sion of the Legislature, and affirmed its devotion to peace, "^he 
other was a smaller assemblage which met at the invitation 
of several prominent gentlemen of Baltimore. It was a body 
of Southern sympathizers and its principal object was to im- 
press Governor Hicks with the strength of the demand in the 
State for the convening of the Legislature to authoritatively 
define Maryland's position. Sentiments of devotion to the 
Union were freely expressed and the meeting put itself so on 
record.* 

Popular feeling in Maryland was in a high state of tension 
over the prospect of the passage of Abraham Lincoln through 
Baltimore, and this was largely due to the fact that the many 
rumors to the effect that the President-elect's course would be 
arrested by assassins had, seemingly, taken more definite form. 
Intelligence was c6nveyed to Mr. Lincoln from two different 
sources that his public passage through that city would be 
fraught with imminent peril. Yielding to the counsel of his 
advisers he consented to an alteration of his program and 
passed secretly through the city. This he was able to do with- 
out breach of etiquette as he had received no official invitation 
from either City or State. It is needless to remark that Mr. 
Lincoln's action was not dictated by a feeling of personal 
concern but "by a sense of the highest prudential duty to the 
people and the government over whose destiny he had been 
called to preside."t However, this was a tactical mistake on 



* Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 383-4- 

t C. M. H., vol. 7, p. 449 ; Rh", vol. 3, p. 304 ; Scharf, vol. 3, pp. 384-397- 



j64 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the part of a President-elect, for had he carried out his original 
program and paused long enough in the city "to express the 
kind feelings which were in his heart with the simple eloquence 
of which he was so great a master he could not have failed to 
make a very different impression from that which was pro- 
duced not only by want of confidence and respect manifested 
towards the city of Baltimore by the plan pursued but still 
more by the manner in which it was carried out."* 

On February i8th Congress, by a two-thirds vote, recom- 
mended as a thirteenth amendment to the Constitution that "No 
amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will au- 
thorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere 
within any state with the domestic institutions thereof, includ- 
ing that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said 
state." This amendment, which Lincoln in his inaugural ad- 
dress approved, was promptly agreed to by the legislatures 
of Maryland and Ohio, but had no effect on the course of the 
South, though it would have permanently protected the insti- 
tution of slavery in the states in which it then existed.f On 
the same date as the proposal of this amendment, a convention 
of the seven seceding states, assembled at Montgomery, Ala- 
bama, was listening to the inaugural address of President Jef- 
ferson Davis, who had two weeks previous been chosen chief 
magistrate of the new Confederacy. He declared that "it was 
wanton aggression" that justified the course of the Southern 
people, a statement which the speaker amplified by the declara- 
tion that "we have vainly endeavored to secure tranquillity and 
obtain respect for the rights to which we were entitled. As a 
necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy of 
separation.":!: 

The inauguration of Lincoln was carried out under cir- 
cumstances whose dramatic effect was increased by the feelings 
of the assemblage gathered to do him honor, which were too 
tense for expression in the exuberent ways which commonly 



* Brown, "Baltimore and the Nineteenth of April." 

t Rhodes, vol. 3, p. 313. 

t Rhodes, vol. 3, p. 293 ; Schouler, vol. 5, p. 490. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 365 

characterized such gatherings. The presence of the decrepit 
Chief Justice Taney, the careworn Buchanan, and the two de- 
feated candidates, Breckenridge and Douglas, had a solemniz- 
ing effect upon the assemblage. Representatives of an old 
order, their appearance on this occasion served to deepen the 
popular consciousness of the untried eventualities of the future. 
When President Lincoln gathered about him his executive" 
associates, Montgomery Blair of Maryland was given the seat 
of postmaster-general at the cabinet table. All phases of cur- 
rent political faith were there represented, but Blair was the 
most aggressive of them all in his advocacy of immediate and 
thorough-going measures for the preservation of the Union. 
A true disciple of Andrew Jackson, he was so radical as to 
give offense to Seward, who at first refused the commission 
tendered him rather than have the ]\Iarylander as an associate, 
and was only pursuaded to reconsider his action, by the assur- 
ance from Lincoln that Blair should be held in check,* 

When on the 12th of April, 1861, at 4 A. M. Brigadier- 
General Beauregard, who was in command of the Confederate 
forces at Charleston, S. C, ordered Fort Sumter to be fired 
upon, the first overt act of hostilities was committed and the 
long impending conflict between the states precipitated. Three 
days later, on Sunday, April 14th, "with colors floating and 
drums beating, and saluting the flag of the Union with fifty 
guns," Major Anderson evacuated Sumter.- His forces were 
transferred to the Steamer Baltic which immediately sailed 
for New York. The news of this overt act was the signal for 
energetic action on the part of President Lincoln. His call 
for troops and the news from Sumter appeared simultaneously 
in the newspapers of the 15th. The breaking out of hostilities 
found the Confederacy better prepared for immediate action 
than the Federal government. For some time before the 
attack upon Fort Sumter, recruiting stations had been opened 
in the border states and Southern cities for the enlistment of 
men for the Southern cause. A number of Marylanders re- 
cruited at a station in Baltimore had participated in the opera- 



* Schouler, vol. 6, p. 8; Rh., vol. 3, pp. 319-20. 



^66 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

tions which brought about the reduction of Fort Sumter.* 

With the call of the government for troops appeared the 
announcement in the Northern press that Maryland was to be 
compelled to adhere to the Union. The State was in a condi- 
tion of intense excitement, and the bitterness of the partizan 
feeling threatened to produce scenes of riotous disorder in 
Baltimore, so that on April 17th Mayor Brown issued a proc- 
lamation in which he exhorted all good citizens to refrain 
from any act which could offer excuse for violence, to refrain 
from intemperate speech and to sustain the public authorities. 
It was inevitable, however, that scenes of disorder should be 
consequent upon the state of public feeling and for a number 
of days the city was often in the hands of contending factions. 
The whole country was interested in Maryland, whose strategic 
position commanded all the routes to the national capital ; and 
if these should not be kept open Washington must certainly 
be captured by the forces of the Confederacy. At the begin- 
ning of the war this was the great stake for which both sides 
played. 

On the 17th of April Virginia seceded from the Union. 
On the i8th five hundred unarmed Pennsylvania militia passed 
through Baltimore without attracting attention. On the 19th 
occurred an event which was second only to the fall of Sumter 
in deepening the feeling and solidifying the determination of 
either side to vindicate the supremacy of the cause which it 
held dear. On that day the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, 
while being transferred from one station to another, was 
assaulted on the streets of Baltimore by a mob which wounded 
twenty-five of the soldiers, some fatally. That the attack was 
not more serious in its consequences was largely due to the 
efficiency of the police under the command of Marshal Kane. 
Colonel Jones, the commander of the Massachusetts troops, 
had instructed his men that they would probably be molested 
in their passage through Baltimore but they were to refrain 
from retaliation, unless actually fired upon, in which event 
they were not to fire promiscuously into the crowd, but to 



* Crawford, "History of Fort Sumter," pp. 309, 310. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 367 

drop any man whom they saw aiming at them. Had the 
Massachusetts troops Hke the Pennsylvania regiments marched 
through the city in a body the probabiHty of molestation would 
have been reduced and protection could better have been af- 
forded them. But, according to the custom of the day, the 
cars were detached from the engine and each one was hauled 
through the streets by horses for the distance of a mile between 
the two stations ; this laid the soldiers open to attack in detail, 
At first obstructions were put upon the track which effectually 
prevented the passage of the troops and compelled their return 
to President Street Station. By that time a dense and angry 
crowd had collected so that when the soldiers advanced afoot 
along President street they were subjected to a shower of mis^ 
siles ; pistol shots were fired into the ranks and one soldier fell 
dead. The order "Fire !" sent a volley into the crowd. The 
Mayor of Baltimore put himself at the head of the troops in 
order to afford them the protection of his person, but it was 
impossible to restrain the wrath of men who had passed beyond 
all bounds of caution and who were uninfluenced by fear. 
The fire on both sides was scattering and a number of innocent 
bystanders were among those injured. When the troops had 
gotten to the vicinity of Light Street, Marshal Kane appeared 
at the head of fifty policemen and forming a rear guard to the 
troops succeeded in awing the crowd sufficiently to enable the 
regiment to reach the station.* Well did Baltimore show its 
regret for this attack upon the citizen soldiery of another state 
who offered no provocation, when the same gallant regiment 
again passed through Baltimore in behest of the call of Presi- 
dent McKinley for troops to effect the redemption of Cuba 
from the tyranny of Spain. No soldiers could have received 
a more splendid ovation than was tendered the Sixth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment at that time. An earlier evidence of the 
same spirit was the reception accorded the regiment when 
visiting Baltimore April 19, 1880. 

Following the attack upon the Massachusetts troops. Gov- 
ernor Hicks and Mayor Brown sent a joint telegram to the 



* Brown's " Baltimore and the Nineteenth of April." 



j68 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

President praying him not to send any more troops through the 
city and giving assurance of their abihty to maintain order. 
A mass meeting was held in Monument Square at which the 
prevailing sentiment was opposition to any attempt at coercion 
of the Confederate States. The War Department strongly 
resented the attack upon the troops advancing to the defense 
of Washington and had issued an order for more troops to be 
forwarded to that point prepared to fight their way through 
if necessary. Fearful of the consequences if the troops were 
not stopped, Mayor Brown and Marshal Kane came to a de- 
cision that it would be wise to burn some of the bridges of 
the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Pialtimore and the Northern 
Central Railroads. To this proposition Governor Hicks, whose 
ambiguous attitude had not yet been changed into one of open 
espousal of the Union, gave reluctant assent. This resolution 
was carried out at midnight on the 19th.* A committee had 
been sent to the President and General Scott to impress upon 
them the desirability of not aggravating further the people 
of Baltimore by bringing troops to that city. They returned 
to report "We have a letter from the former [the President] 
to the mayor and governor, declaring that no troops shall be 
brought through Baltimore, if in a military point of view, and 
without interruptions from opposition, they can be marched 
around Baltimore." This response was deemed unsatisfactory 
and another committee was sent to Washington. In the mean- 
time the city was put in a state of defense and Mayor Brown 
requested from the citizens contributions for that purpose. 
There was a strong feeling that the dispatch of Northern 
troops across the soil of the state would constitute a grievous 
offense to the Southern feeling of its inhabitants. 

The opposition to efforts of the government to mass 
troops at Washington dwindled with the subsidence of the 
first feeling which had engendered it. The Seventh New York 
was hurried to the capital and other troops soon followed, 
so that Washington assumed the aspect of an armed camp. 



♦Rhodes, vol. 3, pp. 2,^3-7; Schf., vol. 3, p. 411; Brown's "Baltimore 
and the Nineteenth of April." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 369 

In the meanwhile the pressure upon Governor Hicks to con- 
vene the Legislature had become too strong- to be denied, and 
that body was convened in special session at Frederick on April 
the 26th, the reason assigned for the temporary change of the 
capital being the presence of Federal troops in Annapolis. The 
pro-Union bias of Hicks was shown in his selection of a town 
in which such sentiments predominated rather than the more 
n.atural place, Baltimore. In his message to the Legislature, 
the governor expressed his strong conviction that the correct 
attitude of Maryland was one of neutrality, and this was the 
policy which was adopted by that body. At its adjournment 
Maryland remained officially attached to the Federal govern- 
ment. It had placed itself on record as affirming that it had 
no constitutional power to pass an ordinance of secession. 

May the 13th found General Butler in Baltimore with a 
large portion of his command and in possession of Federal 
Hill, his occupancy of which was not disputed. In so doing 
Butler had acted on his own responsibility and called out a se- 
vere censure from General Scott, who rebuked him for an enter- 
prise fraught with such great hazard.* This characteristic 
action on the part of Butler did not seriously discredit him 
with his superiors and received the plaudits of the North. 
The activity of the Union forces in Maryland was responded to 
by Confederate movements. Captain Bradley T. Johnson of 
Frederick organized a Confederate company. May 8th, which 
was mustered into service on the 22nd of the same month. 
They were without arms or supplies of any sort, but the wife 
of Captain Johnson, a native of North Carolina, undertook 
and succeeded in accomplishing a mission to the governor of 
that state by which these needs were met. The organization 
of the Frederick company was followed by other Maryland 
enlistments for the Confederate army. 

The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, within 
limits, came to be recognized as a military necessity, and by 
proclamation the writ was formally suspended throughout the 
Unit&d States in certain cases. Chief Justice Taney denied the 



* Butler's Autobiography. 



^70 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

right of the President to suspend the writ and filed an opinion 
to that effect in a case which came before the Supreme Bench, 
It was a Maryland case and wide indignation was excited in 
the State. The feeling was deepened by the subsequent arrest of 
Hon. Ross Winans and other prominent citizens. The State Leg- 
islature on the 22nd of June passed a series of resolutions re- 
monstrating against the assertion and exercise of military jur- 
isdiction within the limits of Maryland on the part of the 
United States government. The proximity of Maryland to 
the seat of Federal authority gave to this action of its legisla- 
tors almost heroic quality. The protest of committees of re- 
monstrance appointed to wait upon the President were inef- 
fective, being regarded simply as the obstructionist efforts of 
recalcitrants. The position of the President upon the subject 
is well illustrated by the case of Vallindingham, a Democratic 
member of Congress from Ohio, whose opposition to a general 
conscription law passed by Congress March 3rd, 1863, led to 
a charge of contumacy being preferred against him and his 
incarceration in a military prison. An application for a writ 
of habeas corpus was denied by the judge of the United States 
Circuit Court upon the ground that if the President, under 
whose military authority the arrest had been made, had trans- 
cended that authority, redress could properly be had only by 
a process of impeachment of the President. The prisoner's 
sentence was modified to expulsion beyond the Federal military 
lines. The answer of the President to a committee of New 
York Democrats, wdio joined a very general expostulation at 
the President's proceeding, was succinct, "Must I shoot a sim- 
ple-minded soldier-boy who deserts, while I must not touch a 
hair of a wily agitator who induced him to desert?"* 

On June loth General Banks assumed command of Balti- 
more, being placed in charge of the Department of Annapolis. 
Alleging that there were within his military jurisdiction un- 
lawful combinations of men for resistance to the United States 
authority, General Banks undertook to ferret out and to sup- 
press them. On the 27th of June, Colonel Kane, the marshal 



* The Cambridge Modern History, vol. 7, pp. 573-575- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 371 

of the police, was placed under arrest and the police board 
was superseded by the appointment of Colonel Kenly as pro- 
vost marshal. On July ist the deposed police commissioners 
were also placed under arrest. No specific charges were prefer- 
red against the men who were thus subjected to the hardship of 
military arrest. A resolution introduced into the House of 
Representatives requesting the President to communicate to 
the body "the reasons and evidence" for the arrest of the com- 
missioners and their detention at Fort McHenry, only elicited 
the response that it was "incompatible with the public interest" 
to do so. Mayor Brown was the only member of the board 
of police commissioners who had not been deprived of liberty 
and he expressed to General Banks his willingness to under- 
take the management of the police department, but his offer 
was declined and throughout the war the police department 
of Baltimore City was administered by the Federal govern- 
ment.* 

On July 1 6th, pursuant to the plan of campaign decided 
upon and which was expressed in the popular cry, "On to 
Richmond," the Federal army moved towards the Confederate 
capital. Their march, however, was not to be a holiday affair. 
Arriving at Bull's Run July 21st, General McDowell, the Fed- 
eral commander, found that Beauregard and Johnston had 
effected a junction which he had been above all things anxious 
to prevent. The battle of Bull Run was fought on Sunday, 
July 2 1 St, and the tide was turned in favor of the Confederate 
army by the timely arrival of Elzey's brigade, which included 
the First Maryland regiment.* General Sherman declared 
the battle of Bull Run to have been one of the best planned 
of the war and one in which both armies were fairly defeated. 
Nevertheless the North was greatly chagrined and the South 
correspondingly exultant. 

Fearing that the fall meeting of the Maryland Legislature 
would show a preponderance of secession sentiment, the Sec- 



* Scharf, vol. 3, 435-437- 

*Schf., vol. 3, p. 448; Rh., vol. 3, PP- 349-354; C. M. H., vol. 7, 
pp. 464-6. 



^-^2 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

retary of War adopted a course for which there was no justi- 
fication and sought to coerce a free state in the exercise of 
its sovereign capacity to elect such representatives as it saw 
fit and who should maintain their right of adopting such meas- 
ures as in their judgment might appear to be wise. He ordered 
the arrest of all or such part of the members of the Legislature 
as well as other citizens of the State as the military authorities 
might deem necessary to prevent the Legislature from passing 
an act of secession. The border states were the pawn in the 
game of strategy being played by Lincoln and Davis and this 
high-handed measure was but one of the unwarranted moves 
which there was no higher power to call.f 

The course of the war was taking a wider reach. Gen. 
George B. McClellan had been assigned to the Army of the 
Potomac, and the lines of war were settling hard and fast 
upon the sections. McClellan, inordinately inflated with self- 
conceit, did not have his complacence diminished by an en- 
gagement at Ball's Bluff on the Potomac above Washington, 
in which through mismanagement the Union forces met defeat. 
The casualties were not considerable, but, nevertheless, they, 
included some of the finest and most promising young men 
of the army, the loss of whom spread a feeling of discourage- 
ment throughout the North. No Maryland troops were en- 
gaged in this battle, but on the 22nd the First Maryland regi- 
ment, under the command of Colonel Kenly, which had been 
sent to the succor of Brig.-Gen. C. P. Stone at Edward's Ferry, 
who had been sent over the Potomac to act in conjunction with 
Colonel Baker's command, performed heroic work throughout 
the night in reconducting across the river the brigade which 
was in imminent peril of being cut off and destroyed. Colonel 
Kenly, in his report, paid a warm tribute to the work and worth 
of the Maryland men. After the performance of this service, 
Colonel Kenly with the rest of General Banks' division was 
ordered into winter quarters near Frederick, but later was 
given the active assignment of garrisoning the military posts 
near Hancock and Williamsport. Confederate batteries had 



t Scharf, vol. 3, p. 441. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 373 

been erected on the Potomac at Quantico Creek and other 
points, and efifectually blockaded the river. Their presence 
was a source of annoyance to General Hooker's corps on the' 
other side of the river and it was proposed to capture them; 
but a reconnaisance showed this to be impracticable. 

The control of the Potomac river by the Confederates 
threw a vast amount of freight, which otherwise would have 
had water carriage, upon the Washington branch of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad ; a larger freight business being done 
upon this road during the war than upon any other in the 
United States. At times it amounted to a daily average of 
over four hundred cars. To further meet the demand for 
better transportation bet\veen Baltimore and Washington, 
wagon trains of nearly one hundred wagons were established. 
So far as approach from the sea was concerned the national 
capital was in a state of siege. 

A naval descent upon the coast of South Carolina and 
Georgia to be cooperated with by a land force under Gen. 
W. T. Sherman was planned and the fleet with its transports 
left Hampton Roads on the 27th of October for its execution. 
Especial interest in this movement was aroused in Maryland 
from the fact that the land forces to the number of fifteen 
thousand were collected at Annapolis. A movement, how- 
ever, in which Maryland was more directly concerned, was 
the occupation of Accomac and Northampton counties on the 
eastern shore of Virginia. General Dix, under whom this was 
accomplished, was prompted to the movement by the fact 
that the Federal authority had been set at naught by Confed- 
erate sympathizers. 

The election of November 6th, 1861, for state officers, 
could have had but one result under existing conditions. The 
"Union" ticket, headed by Augustus W. Bradford, was elected. 
Under the military rules which were issued for the detection 
and apprehension of persons attempting to vote who were 
known to have given active aid to the Confederate cause, the 
vote polled was small and the majority for the "Union" ticket 
large. Many persons had their right of ballot challenged and 



374 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

were placed under arrest. It was clear to all that the policy pur- 
sued by the administration toward Maryland was to be adhered 
to and the state prevented from having an opportunity to throw 
in its fortunes with the Confederacy if it so listed. In his 
inaugural address delivered Januar}^ 8th, 1862, Governor Brad- 
ford denounced in strong terms the spirit and acts of secession. 
"Earlv in "March the Legislature adopted a series of resolutions 
in endorsement of the Federal policy for the preservation of 
the Union and committing Maryland to the loyal support and 
furtherance thereof. Nevertheless, that body was far from 
being under the influence of abolition sentiment and while it 
pronounced against secession, it again at the same time in an 
appeal to the Northern States, issued upon Washington's birth- 
day, urged that the agitation in Congress for the devisement 
of schemes for the abolishment of slavery in the rebellious 
states should be frowned upon. At that time the anti-slaverj' 
advocates were active in seeking to secure the passage of an 
abolition bill for the District of Columbia. Nevertheless a bill 
to that effect, reported to the Senate February 13th, passed both 
houses, and was signed by the President on the i6th of April. 
On the 5th of March Maryland sought to redeem itself from the 
opprobrium it had come under by its treatment of the Sixth 
Massachusetts regiment. At that time the Legislature passed a 
bill introduced by Hon. J. V. L. Findlay appropriating seven 
thousand dollars for the relief of the families of the soldiers 
who were killed.* 

At the beginning of 1862 General Dix was still in com- 
mand of Baltimore and Hooker was in Charles county to the 
south of Washington. General McClellan was stationed south- 
west of that city, while Generals Keys and Casey occupied 
the capital and its environments. General Stone was at Pools- 
ville and General Banks at Darnstown, while detachments of 
the Federal troops were on the Potomac in the vicinity of 
Williamsport. General Kelly had his headquarters at Cum- 
berland. When General Lander, arriving at Cumberland for 
the relief of General Kelly, took charge of the forces there 



* Scharf, pp. 466-7 ; Schouler, vol. 6, p. 43, note. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 375 

stationed he found the Confederate general, Stonewall Jack- 
son, encamped on the opposite side of the Potomac, having 
driven out a body of Federal troops which he found at Bath, 
Virginia. The Federal administration had determined upon 
a vigorous prosecution of the war, having become convinced 
that half-way measures could not restore the Union. At the 
same time it had become thoroughly demonstrated that the 
North was a unit in support of the position of the Federal 
authorities. This had not been the case at the first and there 
had not been wanting Northern men of prominence and organs 
of influence to openly declare that the Southern States were 
not transcending their rights under the Constitution in seced- 
ing. Some expressions had gone even further than this and 
threats had been made that the movement of troops upon the 
seceding states would be a signal for a reactionary movement 
in the North and that if the principle of secession was made 
the issue of the conflict it would have to be determined in 
other quarters as well as those where the immediate provoca- 
tion to depart from the Union was found. The cry had now 
gone up that loyalty to the Union could not contemplate seces- 
sion even as an abstract right. Feeling assured of the solid 
sentiment of the country above Mason and Dixon's line the 
administration was prepared to prosecute the struggle whether 
it was done under or outside of the Constitution. It was a 
condition where the preservation of the Union was not simply 
the paramount but the only issue. Should war measures de- 
mand the ignoring of that instrument the fact itself would be 
ample justification for the proceeding. Maryland's attitude at 
the special session of the Legislature in declaring that it had 
no constitutional warrant for seceding from the Union was 
an evidence of a much more tender regard for that basic fact 
of the American Commonwealth than was evinced by those 
who entered upon the suppression of the rebellious states. 
New views of the constitution were fast taking form in the 
North. It was coming to be felt that although the Constitu- 
tion was a written document, "the letter killeth but the spirit 
giveth life," and the conception of the Constitution as a flex- 



3/6 HISTORY OF MRAYLAND. 

ible instrument which was then formed not only prepared the 
way for Lincohi's emancipation proclamation but was the first 
sprouting of the old stock into a vigorous growth — the begin- 
ning of the era of liberal interpretation of the national docu- 
ment. 

The ix)litical situation had its effect upon the commerce 
of all of the coast cities but this was especially true of Balti- 
more. The Union troops had not been able to prevent the 
Confederates from obstructing the immense traffic of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio Railroad and the embargo placed upon com- 
merce by the military authorities of the city had a repressing 
effect upon the shipments of the port. The financial institu- 
tions of Baltimore became conservative to a degree and their 
unwillingness to afford the usual accommodations to merchants 
obstructed the channels of trade. Maryland's commercial re- 
lations with the South and the complications in that quarter 
added to the express intention of the Confederate Congress 
to sequestrate all money and debts due to Eastern merchants 
furnished considerable justification for the attitude taken by the 
Baltimore banks. It is true that in its course towards the East- 
ern centers, discrimination had been made by the Confederate 
Congress in the case of the city which had so strongly reflected 
Southern sentiment but it could not be hoped that Baltimore 
would continue to receive the immunity which had been ac- 
corded it, even by the Southern privateers. On the other hand 
the government had become sufficiently satisfied with the loy- 
alty of the Sta'^e as evinced by its Legisb.ture to put into cir- 
culation a great deal of money in Maryland. A number of 
vessels were fitted out and expeditions sent from Baltimore 
and Annapolis for operations in the South and large purchases 
of stores made in Baltimore. 

The early months of 1862 were occupied by both parties 
in playing for position. On March 8, 1862, occurred the 
naval engagement between the ]\Ierrimac and the Monitor, 
destined to revolutionize naval warfare and which in a day 
rendered obselete all the warships in the world. When the 
Norfolk Navy Yard was destroyed the steam frigate Merrimac, 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 377 

one of the finest warships in the United States navy, had been 
scuttled and sunk. Later she had been raised by the Confed- 
erates, cut down to the hull, covered by a slanting roof of 
railroad iron, extending two feet below the water, and armed 
with ten heavy guns. Under the command of Captain Bu- 
chanan, a Marylander, she steamed into the mouth of the James 
on the morning of Saturday, March 8, 1862, and when dark- 
ness settled over Hampton Roads it found the Union cause well- 
nigh hopeless. The Cumberland had been sunk "with the Stars 
and Stripes floating victorious in death," the Congress had 
been burned, the Minnesota and St. Lawrence were aground, 
and the ironclad IMerrimac was the undisputed mistress of the 
sea. But a little before midnight the cry sprang from man to 
man, 'The Monitor has come." This was the little vessel de- 
signed by Captain Ericsson, and which the Confederate con- 
temptuously called "a cheese box on a raft," a comparison not 
inapt, for her hull extended but a few inches above the water 
line and was surmounted by a revolving turret containing two 
heavy guns. Early Sunday morning the Merrimac advanced 
to complete her work of destruction, but a solid shot weighing 
160 pounds was the little Monitor's challenge to a duel, which 
after four hours of incessant firing left the Merrimac a crippled 
giant. 

The principal operations of the land forces in Maryland 
during the spring of 1862 was the passage of the Potomac by 
Kenly's First Maryland in connection with General Banks' 
campaign around Harper's Ferr\' and the battle of Front Royal, 
in which Johnson's First Maryland Confederate regiment de- 
feated and captured Kenly's First Maryland Federal regiment. 
This was the first engagement of the war in which Maryland-^ 
ers measured arms. Its issue created intense excitement 
throughout the state and was signalized by a number of dis- 
graceful encounters in Baltimore which certainly did not dimin- 
ish the ill-repute of that city as a place of boisterous outbreaks. 
Baltimore was not the only place in Maryland where turbulence 
prevailed and highhanded and disgraceful acts were perpe- 
trated. Judge Richard Bennett Carmichael, judge of the cir- 



378 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

cuit comprising the counties of Kent, Queen Annes and Talbot, 
had had the courage to instruct the grand jury to present 
parties who had been guilty of making arrests without show 
of authority within the borders of his circuit the previous fall 
during the elections. Major-General Dix ordered James L. 
McPhail, provost-marshal of Baltimore, to proceed to Easton 
and arrest Judge Carmichael. This order was executed with 
great brutality by McPhail and his force of one hundred and 
twenty-five men. The judge was imprisoned in various mili- 
tary forts until December 4th, when he was unconditionally 
released without either having had charges preferred against 
him or having been brought to trial. 

During July were fought the battles of Beaver Creek, 
Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Malvern Hill, and Harrisons 
Landing. The battle of South ^Mountain followed on August 
9th and on August 25th was fought the battle of Manassas or 
second Bull Run. In this engagement the Maryland batteries of 
Dement, Brown and Brockenbrough performed good service 
and aided materially in adding the laurels of Manassas to the 
list of Confederate victories. September opened with Lee's in- 
vasion of ]\Iaryland, which occurred upon the fifth of the month. 
He entered Frederick City upon the 6th. Everywhere the Con- 
federates were greeted with enthusiasm, the strains of "Mary- 
land, My Maryland," "Dixie," and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" 
thrilled the repressed spirits of Confederate sympathizers until 
their ardor vented itself in the jubilation of men who saw in 
anticipation, the victory of the cause dearest to their hearts. 
Frederick was garrisoned by one company under Captain 
Faithful, who retired at the approach of the Confederates, 
leaving behind him a conflagration in which was consumed 
everything that could be of value to the enemy which the 
Federal troops were unable to remove. The Confederates 
established martial law. Orders were given to rigidly respect 
private possessions and Colonel Bradley T. Johnson, a native 
of the place, was appointed provost-marshal. Lee issued an 
address to the people of Maryland, setting forth his reason 
for the invasion of the State and alleging the desecration by 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 379 

the Federal government of the dearest rights of the people, 
and calling upon them to freely decide their own destiny with- 
out constraint. In a spirit of true nobility, he closed with the 
words, "This army will respect your choice whatever it may 
be, and while the Southern people will rejoice to welcome you 
to 'your natural position among them, they will only welcome 
you when you come of your own free will."* Had the call 
of Lee been issued from a section of the State where Federal 
opinion was less prevalent than in Western Maryland, re- 
sponses to it might have been more satisfying. In Baltimore 
thousands hastened to enroll themselves under the banner of 
the chivalric leader of the Confederate forces, but the military 
domination established by the Federal administration had 
brought the citizens of that city and other secessionist sections 
of the State under such close surveillence that it was difficult 
to effect a concerted movement in response to Lee's invitation. 
Nor did the appearance presented by the Confederate troops 
inspire faith in the ultimate success of their cause. Ragged 
and barefooted, many of them leaving in blood-tracks along 
the turnpike the signs of their weary march, they were little 
calculated to inspire with the spirit of martial ardor the ^lary- 
land sympathizers with whom the habit of caution had become 
a custom of life. 

The presence of Lee in the State and his appeal evoked 
from Governor Bradford a proclamation reciting the fact of 
the presence of the Confederate forces and calling upon the 
citizens to enroll themselves in a military organization for the 
defense of Baltimore. The action of the governor was given 
effect by Mayor Chapman and a number of prominent citi- 
zens ; a great many persons volunteered for service and the 
defences ^of the city were rapidly put in a state of efficiency. 
In the event of the Confederates gaining control of the city 
preparations were completed for its reduction to ashes. The 
appearance of Lee in Maryland had almost as great an effect 
upon the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, which was thrown 
in a state of anxiety at the prospect of the Confederates cross- 

* Scharf, vol. 3, P- 498. 



38o HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

ing the line and securing lodgment in a state unequivocably 
Northern. It was indeed believed that the Confederate army- 
purposed marching on Harrisburg and thence to Philadelphia. 
Lee, however, had hoped that upon his entrance into IMaryland 
the Federal troops would evacuate Harper's Ferry and thus 
open to him a route to Washington ; as they did not do so, 
he felt it incumbent upon him to dislodge them by force. 
The immediate purpose of Lee's coming into Maryland, which 
was to cause a rising among the Maryland secessionists, had 
failed and there was no longer reason for his presence in 
the State. The impossibility of capturing Washington was 
apparent ; the question that presented itself to him in his situ- 
ation was in what direction could he move his troops to the 
best advantage. McClellan aided him to an answer. Lincoln 
had committed to that general the opposition to Lee's advance. 
Lee's audacity kept everyone guessing as to his plans and it 
was only a peculiar piece of good luck which enabled Mc- 
Clellan to obtain a copy of Lee's general order of September 
gth by which he obtained full information of the latter 's move- 
ments and intentions. From this source he found that Lee 
had divided his force, sending one section of his army to 
effect the capture of Harper's Ferry and to open up the route 
to Richmond, while the other remained in Maryland. 

With good roads and good weather and the spur of a tele- 
gram from the President not to allow the enemy to elude him, 
and with the knowledge that Lee's weakened vanguard was 
within twenty miles of him, McClellan nevertheless dissipated 
two days in indecision, so that when he met the enemy at An- 
tietam it was not to engage a divided foe but to face the guns 
of Lee's reunited forces full of the spirit of their agile and 
resourceful general. Even then McClellan entered the engage- 
ment with but a third of his forces, the remainder of his army 
being brought into action piecemeal. The battle was hotly 
contested and the slaughter was terrific. At the close of the 
day honors were about equal, although the proportionate loss 
of the Confederates was greatest. It was McClellan's oppor- 
tunity but he failed to avail of it. A hasty retreat on the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 381 

part of Lee was impossible because of the Potomac in his rear. 
But upon the 19th when McClellan renewed the attack, he found 
the enemy had eluded him by crossing into Virginia, and 
the complacent general, with a show of great satisfaction, re- 
ported that he had driven the enemy beyond the Potomac and 
saved Pennsylvania. In the battle of Antietam quite a number 
of Maryland commands had been engaged on either side. 
The Third Maryland Federal regiment, which occupied the 
right of the line, was subjected to a galling fire and came out of 
the engagement with but two hundred effective men. The Fifth 
regiment under Major Blumenburg fought gallantly and also 
suffered heavy losses, while the Seventh regiment under Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Duryea also distinguished itself for its valor 
and suffered severely. Large gaps had been made in its num- 
bers by other engagements, notably at Newbern, N. C, and 
after the battle of Antietam it was reduced to two hundred 
and fifty officers and men. The Purnell Maryland Legion was 
complimented by the general of the brigade of which it formed 
a part for conspicuous gallantry, while the First Maryland 
Federal artillery also achieved distinction in this memorable 
battle. 

In the Confederate army the Maryland troops were no 
less signalized for their bravery and performances. The state 
was well represented by the First Maryland artillery, the 
Chesapeake artillery, the Baltimore Light artillery, and several 
cavalry and independent companies. 

The victory of Antietam furnished Lincoln the opportu- 
nity to issue his famous proclamation of emancipation, which 
had been drafted some time before and which he had laid aside 
until an important success should give its issuance greater 
effect. The Confederate army had been driven out of Mary- 
land and now he proposed to dedicate the soil of that State as 
well as all other slavery territory over which the authority of 
the government extended and so far as might be that of the 
states in rebellion, to the doctrine of freedom as enunciated 
in the Declaration of Independence rather than as expressed 



382 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

in the Constitution. The proclamation was issued September 
22nd, to go into effect January ist, 1863. 

The South was keenly sensitive to this action of the Presi- 
dent and resented bitterly his arraying- their former slaves 
against them. Lincoln had been urged to the action he took 
by the press of the North. In a characteristic reply to a letter 
of Mr. Greeley's, urging a policy of emancipation and declar- 
ing that to seek to put down the rebellion without touching 
slavery would be "preposterous and futile," he had said, "If 
I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would 
do it ; if I could do it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it, 
and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, 
I would do it." In a response to a body of Chicago clergymen 
who visited him on the 13th of September, he pinned his 
future course of action to the turn of events in Maryland and 
declared that he would construe the expulsion of Lee's army 
from that state as an evidence of God's will that he should 
proclaim freedom for the slaves. Thus Maryland became 
once more a pivotal factor in the fixing of the national policy 
upon the greatest question in the nation's history.* 

After McClellan, with an army of seventy thousand, had 
allowed Lee, with little more than half that number, to rob 
him of the advantages of victory, Lincoln personally visited 
the army to ascertain why such an immense force could not 
find more serviceable occupation than the policing of Maryland. 
The inert McClellan, however, in spite of the urgency of his 
superiors, continued idly complaining, while the bold Con- 
federate cavalry leader Stuart crossed the Potomac, rode en- 
tirely around the army and recrossed the river at a lower point. 
He captured a large' number of horses and other stores and 
took with him a number of prominent citizens and officials 
to hold as hostages for the Southern citizens whom the Federal 
authorities had taken from their homes and incarcerated in 
Northern prisons. On the 26th of November an order from 
the Secretary of War secured the release of all Maryland 



* Schouler, pp. 225-5 ; 277-g ; Smith, vol. 2, pp. 94-S ; C. M. H., vol. 
7, pp. 591-5- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 383 

state prisoners. The prominent Baltimoreans who had so long 
suffered the hardships of imprisonment were received in Balti- 
more with a greeting cordial and sincere. To prevent future 
abuses of power, General Wood, now in command of Balti- 
more, issued a special order declaring that thereafter no per- 
sons should be arrested within the limits of his department 
except by his personal order and in such cases the charges 
against the accused would have to be sworn to before a justice 
of the peace. 

Burnsidc, who succeeded McCIellan in command of the 
army of the Potomac, in turn gave place to General Hooker, 
on January 26th, 1863. The early months of this year were 
largely taken up on the part of both armies with preparations 
for the summer campaign. Lee, however, had managed to 
secure a strategical victory at Chancellorsville. The Federal 
army retreated northward bearing with it its commander, who 
had been seriously wounded in the engagement. The victor- 
ious Confederate general thereupon undertook a fresh invasion 
of Maryland. His ultimate purpose was to afford relief to the 
Shenandoah Valley and to transfer the scene of hostilities to 
the north of the Potomac. If he could succeed in doing this 
the Union troops about Vicksburg would be drawn off and 
that otherwise doomed city be saved. Besides these objects 
Lee hints at other ends in the words, "It was hoped that other 
valuable results might be attained by military success."* Just 
what ambitions are hidden in these ambiguous words may 
never be known, but certainly hope welled strong in the breast 
of the Confederate commander that Maryland, the child of 
Southern love, would be aroused by the clarion call of Confed- 
erate conquest upon her soil. This constant hope of the Con- 
federacy had an influence upon the course of the war which 
can never properly be estimated. Though possessed of little 
profit, the speculation is full of interest as to what changes 
in the campaigns of the Civil War would have been made and 
with what effect upon the final result if from the start the 
Confederate government and its military leaders had realized 



* Schouler, p. 351 ; 



384 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

the futility of seeking to range Maryland upon the side of 
secession. "The movement into Maryland was of course a 
more direct threat upon Washington. Besides, at that period 
there was still a prevalent belief among Southern leaders that 
Southern sentiment was strong in Maryland, and that an im- 
portant victory within her borders might change the Confed- 
erate camps into recruiting stations and add materially to the 
strength of Lee's army. But the Confederate graves which 
were dug in Maryland's soil vastly outnumbered the Confed- 
erate soldiers recruited from her citizens."! 

After crossing the Potomac near Harper's Ferry, Lee 
and his army proceeded toward Hagerstown where they made 
a short rest and then crossed the Pennsylvania line and en- 
camped near Chambersburg. He threatened Harrisburg, oc- 
cupied York and Carlisle and seized large quantities of grain 
and cattle, tendering payment in Confederate notes. In the 
meanwhile Hooker had kept informed as to his adversary's 
movements. The Union army had been reinforced through 
the call of the President for one hundred thousand militia to 
be recruited from Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia. Hook- 
er's cavalry leader, Pleasanton, harassed the Confederate flanks 
and won the battle of Brandy Station. He then concentrated 
his forces at Frederick, Maryland. In the meanwhile discord in 
the councils of the high military authorities led Hooker to 
tender his resignation upon the same day, June 27th, that wit-* 
nessed Lee's passage into Pennsylvania. His successor, Major- 
General Meade, spread out his several corps along the roads 
pointing towards Gettysburg and, pressing on, headed directly 
towards the Confederate columns of Hill and Longstreet. 
Each army was to a great extent ignorant of the location and 
movement of the other. On July ist Meade occupied Gettys- 
burg. 

The feeling in Maryland with regard to the Confederate 
army and its prospects had greatly changed from what it had 
been at the time of Lee's earlier advent into the State with his 
bedraggled troopers bearing laurels too few to be prophetic 



fGordon, "Reminiscences of the Civil War," p. 138. 



HISTORY OF MARYL.\ND. 385 

of an ultimate crown of victory. Although the possibility of 
awakening a general response in the State to the open invita- 
tion of the Confederate leader to unite with him for the redemp- 
tion of Maryland from Federal control was forever passed, 
nevertheless the gallant Lee created great enthusiasm, and his 
Southern sympathizers boldly predicted the capture of Balti- 
more. The Maryland authorities hastened to put the city in'^ 
a state of strong defense. The anxiety created by the general 
uncertainty of the situation was fatal to all business and re- 
sulted in a practical suspension of the commerce of the city. 
Governor Bradford on June 17th issued a call for volunteers 
and received in response the enlistment of six thousand citi- 
zens as "Loyal Leaguers." Several thousand negroes were 
set to work to dig entrenchments on the outskirts of the city. 
Forts McHenry, Federal Hill, and Marshall were strongly 
reinforced, troops for this purpose being sent to Baltimore 
from New York and other Northern points. Nor were the 
fears of Baltimore without strong foundation. The Confed- 
erates approached close enough to the city for its residents to 
imagine at least that they caught the smell of gunpowder. 
Col. Harry Gilmour, who had attacked a few squads of United 
States cavalry at Westminster, utterly routed them, chasing 
the fugitives as far as Pikesville, but eight miles north of 
Baltimore. 

During the first three days of July was fought the battle 
of Gettysburg. Upon the issue of that tremendous conflict 
Lee staked and lost. Its result had great moral influence upon 
Baltimore. The incubus of dread was lifted and while the 
authorities and Federal adherents rejoiced at the passing over 
of the most ominous war cloud which had as yet darkened 
the sky, the Confederate sympathizers, glad as well that Bal- 
timore should have escaped the horrors of battle, were greatly 
depressed over a defeat that seemed portentious of the final 
outcome of the strife betwen the states. Until four o'clock 
of the afternoon of the first day the tide of battle seemed to 
favor General Heth, the Confederate commander; his oppo- 
nent Reynolds had been killed and General Doubleday was in 



386 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

temporary coniniand until the arrival of General Howard with 
reinforcements. At four o'clock Hancock also arrived and was 
followed by Slocum, who assumed general command. All that 
night the Union columns concentrated in that vast natural 
theater where the struggle resolutely begun was to assume Ti- 
tanic proportions. Meade himself arrived shortly after mid- 
night. Lee appeared upon the scene in time to witness from 
Seminary Hill the new position occuped by the foe who had 
been made to retreat in the earlier part of the engagement of 
that day. He sent word to General Ewell to attack Seminary 
Hill if he thought it practicable. Throughout the morning the 
contending forces maneuvered for position, but four o'clock in 
the afternoon Hood's division swept up the slopes of Little 
Round Top to attack the Federal extreme left under General 
Sickles. At nightfall the Federal army held a seemingly im- 
pregnable position from Little Round Top to Cemetery Hill. 
In their respective councils the leaders of the opposing armies 
decided to maintain their positions and await the break of 
dawn. In the meanwhile Lee had received the reinforcement 
of the fresh troops of Pickett. The issue of the second day 
had brought the Confederate army a sufficient measure of suc- 
cess to commit it to a continuance of the battle with some 
apparent hope of victory. 

The third day opened with Meade's dislodging Johnson's 
troops from Gulp's Hill, which they had captured, and from 
the Baltimore pike. This seriously disorganized Lee's plans. 
The Confederate commander determined to bring into action 
his massed infantry under the protection of a tremendous 
artillery fire. At mid-day the lull which had followed Meade's 
coup was broken by the concentrated roar of one hundred and 
thirty Confederate guns in the greatest cannonade ever heard 
upon any battlefield. It was responded to by about half the 
number in the Federal lines. In the meanwhile the gallant 
Pickett had massed his seventeen thousand men in wedge- 
shape formation, and after the artillery duel had ended, hurled 
them at the heights of Cemetery Ridge. From both directions 
the Union artillery enfilated the advancing column. But un- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 3^7 

deterred by the hail of iron, it swept on, passed the stone fence 
which furnished cover to its foe, and forced the gunners 
from their guns. It was a magnificent specimen of heroism, 
but the "high-water mari<" of Pickett's charge was not only 
the turning tide of the battle but marked as well the decline 
of the cause for which that magnificent exhibition of American 
valor was given. It was impossible for Pickett to carry his 
tremendous rush-line further into the enemy's ranks. He gave 
the order to retreat. The next day found Lee rapidly heading 
for the Potomac to seek the security of the Virginia shore. 
The invasion of the North was at an end.* Among the Mary- 
land commands which took part in the battle of Gettysburg 
were the Second Marvland Confederate infantry, the Chesa- 
peake Maryland artillery, the First Maryland artillery and 
Colonel Maulsby's Potomac Home Guards. 

The terrible results of the battle made demand upon the 
sympathies of the people of Maryland and they handsomely 
responded Wounded soldiers. Union and Confederate, were 
brought into Baltimore in large numbers. A committee was 
appointed to solicit and forward relief supplies. The city 
council appropriated six thousand dollars which ^vent to swell 
the sums contributed by citizens of Baltimore to a total of fifty 
thousand dollars in cash, besides many serviceable articles. A 
large number of surgeons hastened from Baltimore to the 
battlefield and the Sanitary and Christian Commission which 
under the direction of Mr. Goldsborough S. Griffith, did 
much for the alleviation of the distress of sufferers from the 
war also went to the same place with quantities of medicinal 
stores, clothing and delicacies. The Adams Express Company 
likewise established through its local superintendent an efficient 
hospital corps, while the charitable impulses of various relig- 
ious organizations made quick response to the distressing need. 
Anti-slaven- sentiment in Mar>'land had been rapidly on 
the increase and on May 28th, 1862, a Union convention was 
held in Baltimore which recommended the adoption of a new 
State constitution to embrace an emancipation provision. Upon 

*Schouler, vol. 6, pp. 359-369- 



388 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

April 20th, 1863, at a Union mass meeting held in Baltimore, 
a resolution was adopted that "slavery should cease to be recog- 
nized by the law of Maryland." Upon September 28th another 
Union mass meeting was held in the same city at which a 
demand was made for the immediate emancipation of slaves. 
In the midst of the civil strife, an election was held in Mary- 
land, resulting in the success of the Unconditional Union party. 
The principal feature of this election was the controversy as 
to the limits of the military authority which arose between 
Governor Bradford and Major-General Schenck. An order 
was issued by the latter to the provost-marshals to summarily 
arrest any persons whom they found approaching the polls 
of whose loyalty they were not assured. Governor Bradford 
resented this interference with the functions of the judges of 
election as well as the virtual placing of the liberty of citizens 
in the hands of the provost-marshals whose judgment alone 
was sufficient to cause an arrest. Lincoln was appealed to 
and modified the order of the military commander, without, 
however, materially affecting the points of grievance. The cur- 
ious spectacle was represented of the President expressing un- 
limited confidence in the loyalty of Maryland, the military com- 
mander vieing with the governor in asserting his conviction 
that the issue of the elections was not a matter admitting of 
doubt, and yet the polls being under the close espionage of 
the military authorities. 

At an early period in the session of the Maryland Legisla- 
ture of 1863 a bill was introduced calling a State convention 
with a view to the abolition of slavery. On the 28th of Janu- 
ary it passed both houses. The bill provided for the submission 
of the question of the calling of such a convention to the voters 
at a special election to be held the first Wednesday in the fol- 
lowing April. This election was held and the convention 
proposition received the endorsement of a large majority of 
the voters. On the 27th of April the constitutional convention 
convened at Annapolis, State Comptroller Henry H. Golds- 
borough presiding. The most important changes in the con- 
stitution as adopted were the express acknowledgment of para- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 389 

mount allegiance to the United States, the abolition of slavery 
and the emancipation of slaves, the imposition of a test oath 
upon voters and officeholders, the increase in the number of 
the judges of the Court of Appeals from four to five, the es- 
tablishment of thirteen instead of eight judicial districts, the 
institution of county courts and the increase of Baltimore's 
representation in the legislature from one to three senators and 
from twelve to eighteen delegates. Pursuant to the method 
prescribed by the new constitution for its ratification, an election 
was held on October 12th, 1864, and a majority of votes were 
cast for it. However, the result was contested upon the 
ground of the alleged illegality of the soldier vote, the elim- 
mation of which would have resulted in the rejection of the 
constitution. A writ of mandamus was asked for but 
was rejected and Governor Bradford issued a proclamation 
setting forth the adoption of the constitution. It went into 
efifect November 1st, 1864. 

The summer of 1864 witnessed the third invasion of Mary- 
land. General Early with twelve thousand troops left Staun- 
ton. \'a.. in order to draw oflf the troops about Petersburg by 
a feint of marching against Washington. Gen. Bradley T. 
Johnson, in command of Early's advance, crossed the Potomac 
at Sharpsburg, July 5th. The following day General McCaus- 
land occupied Hagerstown and made demand upon the citizens 
for twenty thousand dollars as well as the surrender of all 
government effects under threats that he would burn the city. 
His demand was complied with. The country surrounding 
Sharpsburg was scoured and everything in the nature of ser- 
viceable supplies appropriated. At Middletown Johnson en- 
countered a Federal force which fell back on Frederick. John- 
son accordingly attacked that city on July 7th and Colonel 
Clendening evacuated the place a few days later, carrying 
with him all his stores. On the 9th the Confederates took 
possession and exacted of the residents a levy of two hundred 
thousand dollars. On that same date the Union army under 
Gen. Lew Wallace met defeat at the hands of the Confederates 
at Monocacy. Baltimore was again thrown into a paroxysm of 



390 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

fright. Consternation reigned supreme. Governor Bradford 
issued a hurried call for volunteers. General Johnson de- 
stroyed the railroads and bridges throughout Baltimore 
county and advanced towards the city as far as Charles Street 
avenue, within five miles of the corporate limits. Here he 
afforded himself the satisfaction of burning Governor Brad- 
ford's house, justifying his act upon the precedent set by the 
Union army. 

Early's sally against Washington was brought to an end 
by the warning given him by Johnson of the arrival at Balti- 
more of the Sixth and Nineteenth army corps. Sending part 
of his command on a raid into Pennsylvania he retreated into 
Virginia. The Confederate force which Early had left behind 
carried out its instructions and also made an attempt uj:>on 
Cumberland, Md., where it was repulsed by General Kelly. 

The incidents of the final campaign of principal note in 
relation to Maryland was the gallant part taken by the Mary- 
land brigade of Warren's corps in General Grant's final opera- 
tions about Richmond and the heroic efforts of the Maryland 
Confederate troops to cut their way through the victorious 
Union lines. The struggle was now over, Richmond was evac- 
uated, and on April 9th, 1865, Lee surrendered his army at 
Appomatox. 

Tlie National Republican Convention had met at Baltimore 
on Tuesday, June 7th, 1864. and renominated Abraham Lin- 
coln, who was elected. Upon the 14th of the following April 
President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, 
an actor, in Ford's Opera Hou.se, Washington. D. C, and in 
accordance with the provision of the Constitution, Vice-Presi- 
dent Johnson succeeded to the office of the martyred President. 

The principal results which were derived from the Civil 
War were the emancipation of the slaves, the establishment 
of the doctrine of an indissoluble Union, which involved the 
overthrow of the idea of state sovereignty, and the recognition 
in a general way of the supremacy of the national government 
in the arena of national issues. Maryland had been preserved 
to the Union and although subjected to the uncertain fortunes 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 391 

and divided sentiments of a border state had nevertheless main- 
tained a position of credit. It had contributed materially to 
both the Federal and Confederate sides of the issue and its 
sons had found themselves compelled to cross swords on more 
than one bloody field. Maryland had never been a large slave- 
holding state, and, had not the issue of slavery assumed a 
sectional aspect she would not have felt called upon to give 
her sympathies to the maintenance of the institution of slav- 
ery. Her Southern proclivities caused her to sympathize deeply 
with her Southern sisters while her prominent part in the form- 
ation of the American commonwealth and the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution prevented her from ever endorsing the 
doctrine of secession. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



AFTER THE CIVIL WAR. 

During the dark days of reconstruction in the South, 
Maryland was compelled to bear many of the afflictions of her 
recreant sisters. The distress incident to military control of 
the state during the continuance of the war have been suffi- 
ciently dwelt upon. Now to the efforts of the Federal govern- 
ment to insure the civil control of Maryland to its adherents 
was added a measure whose searching discrimination as to 
the past conduct and even the opinions of the voting population 
made it a matter of hazard for anyone to attempt to cast a 
ballot who had not by some actual contribution to the Union 
cause placed his "loyalty" beyond impeachment. This word 
had been for so long the test-word in the state that it had 
assumed something of the character of a fetich. Those who 
could pronounce their shibboleths in an approved manner, 
albeit many did so with hypocrisy in their hearts, w'ere ipse 
facto regarded as devoted sons of the Union. One of the most 
unfortunate features of Maryland's forced position in the 
civil strife was the equivocation which it bred. When the dis- 
play of Confederate colors in the ribbon of a nurse girl's hair 
was a sufficient cause for her arrest and that of her tender 
charge and when the failure to display a bit of Union colors 
was a sufficient cause for the arrest of entire households it was 
impossible that many men with strong Southern sympathies 
the expression of which would not only have been futile but 
fatal, should not have learned too well the art of taking their 
harps from the willows and playing the Lord's songs in a 
foreign land. 

392 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 393 

The act to which reference is here made was directed to 
the scrutiny of the registry hsts. It propounded to apphcants 
for registration twenty-five questions which probed into both 
conduct and conscience. A single false statement or one which 
could be so construed rendered the person making it liable to 
confinement in the penitentiary for not less than one nor more 
than eight years and rendered him forever disqualified from 
voting or holding office. To these penalties was added the 
suggestion to possible derelicts of the moral opprobrium they 
would be brought under and the future punishment they would 
be subjected to for false swearing. It is not surprising that 
the value of the franchise which during the war presented 
too many perils for it to be generally courted, should now have 
been reduced in popular appreciation to a point considerably 
lower than ever before. Out of forty thousand persons quali- 
fied to vote in Baltimore only ten thousand had the hardihood 
to present themselves for the prescribed examination. An 
election held under such conditions was but a perfunctory 
performance. At a mass meeting held in Howard County 
under the leadership of Montgomery Blair, the registration act- 
was severely denounced. A test case was brought before the 
Court of Appeals and passed upon adversely. On January 
loth, 1866, Governor Swann convened the legislature in special 
session, but recommended to it that no radical modifications 
should be made. 

The people now sought mitigation of their grievances in 
recourse to a State Convention, which was held on the 24th 
of January and was presided over by Hon. Montgomery Blair, 
and included representative citizens from every portion of the 
state. The Baltimore Sun referred to the gathering as one 
of the most representative in intelligence and influence which 
had ever convened in Baltimore. The general sentiment of 
the convention was that eflforts should be directed towards the 
securing of peace and harmony and that measures such as the 
registration act which were designed to perpetuate the issues 
of civil strife in the state ought to be repudiated. Thus was 
begun a popular movement for the restoration to confidence 



394 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of a large proportion of the citizens of the State who accepted 
the arbitrament of war and who, in a spirit of devotion to 
Maryland, desired only to have an opportunity of exercising 
the common right of franchise. The cry of the convention was 
let by-gones be by-gones and j^ermit the citizens of Maryland 
to get together in the common work of assimilating the ele- 
ments of the state and bringing about a return of that homo- 
genity which had been destroyed by fratricidal strife* The 
convention appealed without avail both to the general gov- 
ernment and to the Legislature. Nevertheless, a practical modi- 
fication was brought about through a more liberal interpreta- 
tion of the law and a consequent milder application of it. At 
the October election, however, the actual votes cast for mayor 
were only seven thousand, nine hundred and ninety-three. 
The judges of election, actinr;" upon the advice of the attorney- 
general of the state, debarred from voting the registered voters 
of 1866, upon the ground that that registration had not been 
complete. A meeting of citizens was held on the i6th of Octo- 
ber and a committee was appointed to investigate the official 
conduct of the police commissioners and their appointees, who 
were charged with having committed grave misdemeanors in 
connection with the recent election. A memorial accompanied 
with numerous affidavits was presented to Governor Swann, 
who took official cognizance of the cases of the commissioners. 
The latter declined to appear upon the 22nd. the day set by 
the governor for trial, they denying his jurisdiction. Upon 
the 1st of November the governor summarily removed them 
in the exercise of the power with which he conceived himself 
to be clothed, and appointed a new board. The city was in 
a fever of excitement, and the discredited commissioners, ad- 
hering to their position, mustered in a force of thirty-five 
hundred special policemen and placed under arrest the mem- 
bers of the new board as well as the sheriff. Fearing that the 
controversy which had stirred the feelings of the citizens of 
Baltimore to their depths might result in an "insurrection," 



* "Reports of Convention in Baltimore Sun and American, Jany. 24, 
supra, 1866. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 395 

President Johnson, through the war department, called the 
attention of General Grant to the situation in Baltimore and 
that official, after directing General Canby to proceed to the 
city in the interest of order, arrested the progress of certain 
troops passing through Baltimore enroute from New York, 
and also held an infantry regiment at Washington in readiness 
for immediate service. On the 5th, General Grant appeared 
upon the scene in person. The seriousness of the situation 
as it appeared to him is denoted by the telegram which imme- 
diately upon his arrival in Baltimore, he sent to Secretary 
Stanton : "This morning collision seemed almost inevitable." 
On the same day that Grant sent this telegram the warden 
of the jail declined to honor a writ of habeas corpus which the 
court harl issued in behalf of the imprisoned officials. In so 
doing he was acting in concert with the displaced board whose 
purpose was to remain in charge of the police machinery of 
the city until after the approaching election. This election 
was held on November 6th, and in spite of the fact that the 
ballot box was "hedged round by restriction and kept in cus- 
tody of those who, by the judgment of the law, had forfeited 
all right to its guardianship," resulted in the election of the 
conservative candidate for State Comptroller, Col. William J. 
Leonard, by a majority of one thousand and twenty. In view of 
the incitement to disorder which the circumstances of the elec- 
tion furnished, the success of the conservative ticket was aptly 
referred by the Baltimore Sun as a "triumph of popular forbear- 
ance." Two days after the election the warden of the jail 
brought the imprisoned police commissioners into court and 
upon the 13th of the month Judge Bartol delivered an opinion 
granting release to the prisoners, who thereupon entered into 
the unobstructed exercise of their functions, 

Maryland was not distracted by her political difficulties 
to the extent of neglecting her duty of love. The ravages 
made by the Civil War throughout the South had laid that once 
fertile and prosperous section under tribute to the locust and 
the cankerworm, Maryland's ever generous response to need 
prompted her to liberal contributions for the relief of destitute 



396 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

persons in the states laid waste. It is to the credit of the 
Northern States generally that they, too, sent large relief funds 
into the stricken sections, which proved to be veritable peace 
offerings and went far towards effecting a conciliation of 
feeling on the part of the people of the South towards their 
northern brethren. In April, 1866, a Southern Relief Fair 
was held in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute, at which 
about one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars was realized. 
The following January the State Legislature appropriated one 
hundred thousand dollars for the same purpose. In addi- 
tion to these, large contributions were sent through private 
channels. The commiseration felt by Maryland for the South 
was prompted by a generous feeling towards the section with 
which it had so much in common, to which it had made con- 
tributions of men and money, and for which it had suffered 
during the dark days of the war. 

The suffrage agitation which had been going on in the 
State bore fruitage in a bill which passed the Legislature on the 
24th of January, 1867, the object of which was "to restore 
to full citizenship and the right to vote and to hold office, all 
persons who may be deprived thereof by the provisions con- 
tained in the fourth section of the first article of the constitution 
of the state." The only test remaining for the exercise of the 
right of suffrage was simply an oath to support the Constitu- 
tion and laws of the United States. A bill for the holding of 
a new election in Baltimore City was also passed but was re- 
considered before it received the governor's signature. 

The popular demand for a new constitution resulted in 
the calling of an election to decide that question. This was held 
April 13th, 1867, a majority of votes being cast in favor of 
the proposition. The convention was held May 8th of the same 
year, in the hall of the House of Delegates in the statehouse. 
Judge Richard Carmichael, of Queen Annes County, presided 
over the body. The convention remained in session until 
August 17th, at which time it had agreed upon and had 
drafted a new constitution for the state. On September i8th 
it was submitted to the people for ratification and received a 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 397 

majority vote of twenty-four thousand, one hundred and six- 
teen. On October 5th it went into effect. Among the more 
important changes provided for in the new constitution were 
those relating to the electorate and judiciary. In conformity 
with the fifteenth amendment of the national constitution, the 
total population of the State was made the basis of the represen- 
tation in the Legislature, instead of. as formerly the white popu- 
lation. The number of judicial circuits was increased from 
eight to thirteen, with three judges instead of one in each cir- 
cuit. The circuit judges were to be elected by the people of 
the several circuits instead of upon a general state ticket. 
These judges were also to constitute a Court of Appeals. The 
five judges of Baltimore City, now eight, were associated in a 
Supreme Bench of Baltimore City, with certain appellate juris- 
diction. The first election held under the new constitution was 
the municipal election in Baltimore at which R. T. Banks was 
elected mayor. This was on October 23rd. The 5th of the 
following month Col. Oden Bowie was elected governor of 
the State by a majority of forty-one thousand in a total vote 
of eighty-five thousand. At the same time two-thirds of his 
associates upon the Democratic-Conservative ticket were elected 
to the legislature. The triumph of the section of the Union 
party which continued much of the traditions of the ante- 
bellum democracy must be attributed to the votes of those 
Democrats with Union sympathies whose support had been 
lost to their party during the Civil War. 

Although the elections of 1866 had as their issue the free- 
dom of the ballot box and by their result established the popu- 
lar vindication of the right of men to vote whom it was cus- 
tomary for their opponents to refer to as "rebels and rebel 
sympathizers." nevertheless, the struggle for the resumption 
of political rights by the lately disfranchised element of the 
electorate had vet to be continued in the face not only of 
strong adverse sentiment but of actual measures proposed m 
Congress for Federal governmental control over Maryland, j 
Defeated in the state elections, the radical party with ex-Gov- 
ernor Francis Thomas as their leader, carried the contest into 



398 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Congress where they lioped to receive active support by reason 
of the strong- Republican preponderance in that body. Charges 
were presented against Governor Swann of the employment 
of revolutionary tactics subversive of the true intent of the 
registration law and of the interest of the "loval" element of 
the state and their principles in general. A circumstance of 
the factional strife in Maryland was a proposal which was made 
in the House of Representatives to remove the Naval Academy 
from Annapolis. Although e.x-Governor Thomas was swayed 
by intense Union sentiment in his contest for the supremacy 
of the radical party in Maryland, he nevertheless, in connection 
with General Phelps, made an earnest fight against the sinister 
plan to deprive Maryland of the Naval Academy as a punitive 
measure. General Phelps in an earnest speech vindicated 
Maryland's right to be regarded as a loyal state and eloquentl}/ 
recited her contributions to the Union cause, "Fifty thousand 
men in the Union armies, $30,000,000 thrown into the breach, 
with eighty-seven thousand of her slaves as a voluntary sac- 
rifice to the Union at the time it was imjx?rilled," said he, "is 
the answer to the libel." He concluded with a peroration 
whose satire was most cogent in disclosing the disingenousness 
of the advocates of the measure than argument: "If the re- 
sults of elections from time to time are to have this eflfect upon 
works requiring stability for their success, upon great public 
institutions demanding permanence for their utility, then you 
must put the Military Academy at West Point, the Naval 
Academy, the United States Mint, and every other public in- 
stitution, upon wheels, and move them from state to state, 
whenever the result of an election may be objectionable to the 
dominant majority in Congress." This was not the last time 
that the permanency of the Naval Academy at Annapolis was 
threatened by those who envied Maryland the distinction. 
Nevertheless it still remains and the immense sums since spent 
in the improvement of the Academy places beyond future ques- 
tion its continuance upon the banks of the Severn. 

Although the efforts of the advocates of reconstruction 
for Mandand failed of effect because of the definite refusal 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 399 

of Congress to regard that state as a subject for the applica- 
tion of the stringent measures which were appHed to those 
states lately in rebellion, Congress had the benefit of a cam- 
paign of enlightenment upon the situation and sentiment in 
the state which while it could hardly have been edifying, was 
not without value in fixing clearly the attitude of the adminis- 
tration towards the state. It was again the eloquence of Gen- 
eral Phelps which made clear the injustice of the attack upon 
Maryland. As in the case of the Naval Academy, so in the 
matter of the electorate, General Phelps made clear the injus- 
tice of the action which Congress was urged to take and reaf- 
firmed his declaration of the essential loyalty of the State. 

The Committee on Judiciary to which all the testimony 
relating to the Maryland question had been referred never re- 
turned a report, so that the December session of Congress of 

1867 saw the end of the attempt to further the demands of 
the minoritv element of the State whose motives, however, 
sincere, were based upon an exaggeration of the situation even 
from their own point of view, and, certainly, were rested upon 
a wholly mistaken apprehension of the needs of Maryland. 

With its political status definitely assured, the State ex- 
perienced a period of quiet and constitutional legislation. In 

1868 the Congressional elections were fixed as at present on 
the first Tuesdav after the first Monday in November. It was 
enacted at that time that it should be the duty of policemen 
in Baltimore Citv to report to the police board the name and 
residence of everv male person known by them to have died 
within the bounds of their districts during the year in order 
that these lists might be furnished to the registers. This was 
the beginning of the system of police census. Many minor 
changes were made by the Legislature during these and subse- 
quent years in an attempt to eliminate the objectionable features 
of the elective machinery and to remedy the abuses to which 
it had been subjected. 

An element of interest in the Legislature of 1868 was 
the selection bv the new body of a United States senator to 
succeed the Hon. Reverdy Johnson, whose term of office was 



400 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

to expire upon the 4th of March, 1869. Hon. William T. Ham- 
ilton received the necessary vote and was duly declared elected. 
In the meanwhile, however, the distinguished abilities of Rev- 
erdy Johnson led the President to tender him the appointment 
of Minister to England. The seat in the Senate which was 
thus made vacant was filled by the appointment by Governor 
Swann of William Pinckney Whyte, of Baltimore, for the 
unexpired term. 

A circumstance of the year 1868 which made a deep im- 
press upon the minds of the citizens of Baltimore and serves 
to mark an epoch in its social experience was a disastrous flood 
which visited the city, carrying terror to the minds of all and 
resulting in loss of life as well as the destruction of much 
property. Jones Falls has always played an imjx)rtant i)art 
in the history of Baltimore, but it has frequently been a source 
of danger to the city. Coming from the hilly country towards 
the northwest, it winds its course through the very heart of 
the city. When swollen by freshets it freciucntly has over- 
flowed and inundated the low-lying sections of the city. On 
the 24th of July, as the result of a downpour of rain through- 
out the day, the Falls rose with great rapidity, overflowed into 
the contiguous streets, inundated dwellings, and became a 
raging torrent, carrying before it every form of movable prop- 
erty. The destruction of property was estimated at $3,000,000 
and the distress was so deep and widespread that the Maryland 
Legislature and the Baltimore City Council adopted relief meas- 
ures, large contributions being also made by generous citizens. 
Another event of quite a different nature and which furnished 
a beginning of a practical political ])rol)!em for the .^latc was 
the casting of the first ballot by colored men at any election in 
Maryland. This was at the local election held at Towson, 
Baltimore county, April 4th, 1870, for the selection of five 
town commissioners. Although it was the first occasion of the 
exercise by colored men of the right of franchise given them 
under the new constitution, it was not the first instance of 
the colored population exercising the right of ballot within 
the territorial limits of the state of Maryland. Prior to 1666 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 401 

a few colored men had voted as citizens of the colony. Mary- 
land in bestowing the ballot upon the freedman was but re- 
viving the liberal attitude she had held towards the colored 
race more than two hundred years before. The colored voters 
were not slow to avail themselves of their newly acquired right 
for at the fall elections of 1870 thirty-six thousand negroes 
voted. 

On July 9, 1872, the National Democratic Convention was 
held in Baltimore, at which Horace Greeley was put in nomina- 
tion for the Presidency. The contest between Greeley and 
Grant, the Republican nominee, was hotly fohght and had 
about it elements of peculiar bitterness. In Maryland the 
voting sentiment was evenly divided so that although Greeley 
secured the State's electoral votes he did so by the narrow 
margin of nine hundred and twenty-seven. The year following 
has passed into the economic history of the country as one 
of disaster by reason of the panic which bore down upon the 
tide of misfortune many financial institutions of New York, 
Baltimore and other cities and which gave to September 19th 
of that year the name "Black Friday." 

In 1874 the Board of Police Commissioners underwent a 
fresh modification. The law remained substantially as it was 
in 1867 at which time the board, as we have seen, consisted of 
three persons elected by the legislature for four years. It 
was now changed to provide for six commissioners, one mem- 
ber retiring biennially. The State had not yet forgotten the 
disorders incident to the Knownothing rule in Baltimore, at 
which time the administration of its police was taken out of 
the hands of the city. In spite of continuous protest on the 
part of Baltimore against what it regards as a usurpation by 
the State of an important feature of its local rule, the city is 
still denied the right to have control of its own police depart- 
ment. 

The attitude of Maryland in the memorable Hayes-Tilden 
contest was reflected in a resolution introduced into the House 
of Delegates by Montgomery Blair, instructing the Attorney- 
General of the State to take appropriate action looking to the 



402 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

bringing to the attention of the Supreme Court of the United 
States, the facts with regard to the late Presidential election 
in Maryland and to pray the court to declare the returns of the 
Electoral Commission with regard to the states of Louisiana 
and Florida fraudulent and void and to decide the contest in 
favor of Tilden and Hendricks. Pursuant of this resolution, 
Mr. Kimmel of Maryland introduced a bill in the House of 
Representatives providing a form of action by which the title 
to the office of President and Vice-President might be tried 
before the Supreme Court in the name of any of the states of 
the Union. This attempt of Maryland to make the office of 
President a proper subject for litigation failed to receive the 
sanction of Congress. 

In 1877 occurred the great strike of the employees of the 
Bnltimore and Ohio Railroad, this action on their part being 
the result of a 10 per cent, reduction in their pay. For a de- 
cade industries and general business throughout the country 
had sufTered depression, largely the effect of a reaction from 
the fictitious prosperity incident to the close of the Civil War. 
The situation bore heaviest upon the working classes. Large 
numbers were thrown out of work and in almost all lines of 
employment there were reductions made in wages. The rail- 
roads of the country, sufi^ering from the reduction of trans- 
portation, sought relief by effecting economies in administra- 
tion. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, instead of resorting 
to the practice followed by some of the other systems of reduc- 
ing the force of its employees, sought to retain their men in 
their employ and made the cut in their wages in order to do 
so. The men were not satisfied to take this view of the com- 
pany's action and quit work on July 16. Two days later the 
governor of West Virginia appealed to President Hayes for 
troops with which to suppress the riots at points upon the rail- 
road line in that State. At the s^me time President darrett 
made a similar appeal upon the part of the railroad, and the 
national executive deemed the situation serious enough to 
respond. He issued a proclamation calling upon the rioters 
to desist from their unlawful proceedings. This action being 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 403 

without effect, on July 20th eight companies of United States 
troops were sent to Martinsburg, West Virginia. In the 
meanwhile Governor Carroll of ^Maryland had called out the 
Fifth Maryland regiment. This crack militia command was 
despatched to Cumberland, where it acquitted itself with credit. 
The governor also issued a proclamation to the rioters within 
the borders of the state to refrain from further acts of violence. 
This unfortunate strike was characterized by many scenes of 
disorder and violence in Baltimore. Sections of the city 
were placed under virtual military rule. The clashing of the 
rioters and militia resulted in a number of distressing casual- 
ties. By July 28th the strike had spent its force in Baltimore 
and an attempt was made to run cars in the State. The better 
spirit of the men had by this time reasserted itself and they 
offered no serious opposition. The election for governor and 
other state offices in November, 1879, resulted in a sweeping 
Democratic victory. The issues were fairly and dispassionately 
presented. Hon William T. Hamilton, the candidate of the 
Democratic party received a majority vote of 22,208 over his 
Republican opponent, Hon. James A. Gary. 

From the 12th to the 19th of January, 1880, festivity 
reigned supreme in Baltimore. The city spent its energies 
in a round of pleasureable and spectacular events, in celebra- 
tion of its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary. The sesqui- 
centennial was the greatest celebration ever held in the city. 
The weather conditions were perfect and multitudes of visi- 
tors, not only from the Stnte itself, but from the South gener- 
ally entered with the keenest enjoyment into the spirit of the 
occasion. The civil, military and trades processions and the 
water pagentry was upon a scale of elaborateness and exten- 
siveness that proved a vcrtible revelation to Southern mer- 
chants of the resources of the metropolis and did much to 
strengthen the commercial ties between Baltimore and the 
South. 

One of the features of the celebration was a parade 
of ten thousand school boys. This was significant of the place 
Avhich public education had come to hold in the economy of 



404 HISTORY OF .MARYLAND. 

the city and state. The development of the school system has 
been noticed in part. An adequate treatment of the history 
of education in Marylantl and the steps by which there came to 
be grouiKHl in the State, and j)articularly in r)altimore City, 
a large number of general and technical schools of high grade 
is not possible in the brief limits assigned to a particular topic 
in a state history. Xo one single thing, however, has so con- 
tributed to the high regard in which Baltimore is held and the 
estimation abroad of its spirit of progress as its educational 
institutions. No city in the country has so large a proportion 
of student population or a greater diversity of educational 
opiX)rtunities. With Maryland's appreciation of the institu- 
tions for the higher and special branches of learning has gone 
han-in-hand a generous and w?se provision for primary 
and secondary instruction. 

The Act of 1825 to provide for public instruction of the 
youth in public schools throughout the state soon gave proof 
of its inefficiency. The governor in his message in 1828 called 
the attention of the Legislature to the fact that the 1 iw was 
believed to be so defective that there had not been more than 
a partial attempt to carry out its provisions and that without 
revision and material amendment it would prove useless. It 
was not adapted to the habits of the people of Maryland and 
it was based upon an artificial system. The matter of principal 
interest in the act was its acceptance of the principles of 
modern public education and although the State's entrance 
upon large schemes of internal improvement led to such 
financial embarrassment that appropriations for schools were 
not at all times adequate, nevertheless, the way was prepared 
for the adoption of a state system of education. The various 
enactments passed between the year 1825 and the breaking out 
of the Civil War show that public education in Maryland 
was in a tentative and formative state. It was moreover 
lacking in uniformity, both as to consistency in the various 
counties and the grades of schools to which state aid was 
rendered. In 1856 Governor Ligon in a message to the 
legislature declared that the system of public instruction in the 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 405 

state was in a condition of utter and hopeless prostration.* 
He recommended the reconstruction of the system upon a plan 
of uniformity and supported by state and county resources and 
under a central controlling and supervisory power. 

It was not until 1865 however that the state secured a 
comprehensive school system. The system then adopted was 
stronely centralized. Instead of the school funds bemg divided 
among the several counties and administered according to 
different systems there was created a state Board of Education. 
This was to consist of the governor, lieutenant-governor, 
speaker of the House of Delegates, and a state superintendent, 
an appointee of the governor. Tliis fonnidable. assemblage 
of dignitaries was given supervision of all colleges and schools 
receiving state donations. They had the selection of the schoo 
equipment, prepared a code of regulations for the government 
of the countv school boards, appointed such school commis- 
sioners for each county as the state superintendent might direct 
and had the power of removal of any commissioners found 
guiltv of failing to act in harmony with the superintenden 
^-Ml' property, estate, and effects, all money, all funds, all 
claims, all state donations,- now vested by law in any county 
or school district, any board of school commissioners, any 
board of inspectors of primary schools, any trustee or trustees 
of primary schools, or any other body of persons whatsoever 
for the use and benefit of public, primary, free or high 
schools in the county," was transferred to the board of school 
commissioners of the county. The counties were divided nto 
school districts with one commissioner in control of each 
.vho had the appropriate duties of such an office, the appoin^^^^^^^^ 
of teachers from persons having proper certificates, the super 
vision of certificates and the hearing of charges affecting th 
morals or competency of teachers. The law provided for the 
establishment of a high school in each county and St- John s 
College Washington College, the Agricultural College, the 
Facuhv of Arts and Sciences, and the Law Schoo were brough 
together to constitute the University of Maryland. It was 

* Steiner's " History of Education in Maryland." 



4o6 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

designed that the courses of instruction in the county high 
schools should prepare students for matriculation in some 
one of the schools comprising that University. The school 
law of 1865 further provided that the state appropriations to 
the counties for the maintenance of the academies and schools 
should constitute "together with such other donations as from 
time to time may be made and annually appropriated by the 
county board, a high school fund." In its operation it was soon 
found that the Act of 1865 had carried centralization too far 
and a new school law was passed in 1868 which restored the 
right of local self government in school matters and left the 
endowed schools as they had been before 1865. The provision 
for the county high schools remained and gradually a number 
of the academics l^ecame incorporated with the public schools. 
The institutions furnishing higher education which date back 
in their history to the formative period of Maryland's educa- 
tional system had experienced the vicissitudes consequent upon 
the changes in the state's attitude towards public education. 

Washington College, Chestertown, received its charter 
in 1772 and at its foundation absorbed the Kent County School. 
Two years later the western shore emulous of educational 
opportunities equal to those of the other side of the bay se- 
cured through its representatives in the Legislature in 1784 
the charter of St. John's College. Public appropriations were 
made for these institutions. The ambition to have within 
its borders a university such as were to be found in several 
of her sister states was shown in the act creating St. John's 
College by a provision by which it was associated with Wash- 
ington College to constitute the University of Maryland. The 
institution which was to continue the name of University of 
Maryland developed from a medical faculty. As early as 1789 
there was organized the Medical Society of Baltimore. In 1812 
a College of Medicine of Maryland was duly constituted 
by an act of legislature, which also provided for a faculty of 
divinity, a faculty of law and a faculty of the arts and sciences 
which thus united should constitute a University by the name 
and under the title of the University of Maryland. The 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 407 

organization of the new University was, however, too loose 
to be effective, and the only faculties which became established 
on a permanent footing were those which continue to-day, 
the schools of medicine and law, to which was later added a 
school of dentistry. 

The Peabody Institute, whose aims are broadly educational 
and which has had a wide influence, not only upon the intellec- 
tual life of Baltimore, but of Maryland and the South, was the 
gift, in 1857, of Mr. George Peabody, a native of Massachu- 
setts, but an adopted son of Maryland, who, recognizing his 
indebtedness to the city of Baltimore as the place in which he 
had laid the foundation of his great fortune, sought to repay 
his obligation in part by the establishment of an institution 
which should provide means of higher culture for the youth 
of the State. He appointed trustees for the proposed institu- 
tion and placed in their hands the sum of $300,000 towards 
the erection of a building and the providing of necessary 
appliances. Upon the i6th of April, 1869, the corner stone 
of the Peabody Institute was laid and orPOctober 25, 186^, 
the building was dedicated in the presence of a vast assemblage, 
including 18,000 pupils of the public schools. By various 
donations Mr. Peabody increased the endowment of the Insti- 
tute to $1,400,000. This magnificent foundation sustains a 
free public library, courses of lectures, a school of music, and 
a gallery of art. The library was formally opened to the public 
in 1866 and the building was finally completed in 1869. The 
library is entirely used for reference and is one of the finest 
of its kind in the country. 

The Johns Hopkins University was one of the latest 
educational foundations of Maryland. It owes its existence 
to a Baltimore merchant, Johns Hopkins, who acquired a 
large fortune by industry and sagacity. At the request of Mr. 
Hopkins an incorporation was formed on August 24, 1867, 
under a general statute "for the promotion of education in the 
state of Maryland." This liberal authorization permitted the 
projected institution to assume as wide a range as its incor- 
porators might care for it to take. Upon the death of Mr. 



4o8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

Hopkins it was found that he had bequeathed $3,500,000 for 
each of two institutions which were to bear his name — the Johns 
Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. The gift 
to the University included Mr. Hopkins estate, "Clifton," 
which was eventually sold to the city for a public park. The 
trustees of the new University were fortunate in securing 
as its first president Daniel C. Gilman, who was called from 
the presidency of the University of California to practically 
create the University whose existence at that time was simply 
on paper. President Gilman brought with him to Baltimore 
not only wide and diversified scholarship, enthusiasm and ideals, 
but a conception of an American University such as had never 
yet been developed. With the full concurrence of the trustees, 
Dr. Gilman made the matter of the housing of the new univer- 
sity a secondary consideration and devoted himself to gather- 
ing about him a faculty composed of men bred in the methods 
of the German universities and a corps of graduate students 
the high competency of which was assured by the method of 
selection ; a number of fellowships being oflfered with com- 
petitive requirements. As Dr. Gilman had selected his teaching 
associates with rare discrimination, so with splendid tactful- 
ness he organized them into a unit of action, yet without limit- 
ing in any degree the full expression of their varied genius, 
industry and enthusiasm. The wisdom of the new experiment 
of a university organized upon the graduate idea has been 
justified by the results achieved. For it did not require any 
considerable length of time for the worth of the Johns Hopkins 
University to challenge the respect of older foundations 
throughout the country and to be accorded preeminence among 
American educational institutions by universities abroad. The 
Johns Hopkins Hospital also started with distinctive ideals 
and its achievement of high renown has fully justified the 
exceptional standards for hospital service which it established. 
At the time of its foundation it surpassed in buildings and 
equipment all other institutions of its kind in this country. 
The original purpose of establishing a medical school which 
should be in connection with the university and oflfer its stu- 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 409 

dents all of the opportunities of hospital training could not be 
carried out, for want of an adequate endowment, until 1890, 
when, through the beneficence of Miss Mary E. Garrett and 
other women, a fund of $119,000 was tendered the trustees for 
that purpose. The gift carried with it a stipulation that 
"women should be admitted upon the same terms as may be 
prescribed for men." The trustees accepted the gift with its 
condition, but the sum proving inadequate for the purpose 
toward which it was to be directed, Miss Garrett increased the 
amount to $500,000. The Johns Hopkins Medical School 
was then organized as a department of the University. 
/I In 1866 the State Normal School for the training and 
equipment of teachers for the public schools was organized in 
conformity with an act passed by the legislature the year 
before. This school has since then done a wide work in fitting 
young men and young women for teaching positions. Its 
graduates are allowed to teach in any of the counties of the 
state without having to take an examination for a county 
certificate. 

Western Maryland College, located at Westminster, Md., 
was developed from a private academy, which, after having 
come under the direction of Rev. J. T. Ward, D. D., received 
the sympathy and practical aid of the Maryland Conference 
of the Methodist Protestant Church, with which Dr. Ward was 
connected. Under its new control and with the name Western 
Maryland College the former academy entered upon an era of 
prosperous development. The succession of Rev. T. H. Lewis, 
D. D., to its presidency was followed by a still greater de- 
velopment, until in 1903 the college had a plant and equipment 
worth above $200,000. A unique feature of this college is 
its successful attempt to train the two sexes in separate depart- 
ments, thereby gaining the principle benefits of co-education 
without experiencing its objectionable features. Western 
Maryland College has never received an endowment and its 
high place among institutions of learning in the state is due 
altogether to economy in administration. Like some of its 
sister colleges, however, it receives state aid in the form of 



4IO HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

scholarships, the recipients of which engage to teach in the state 
after graduation. The college sustains close relations with the 
Johns Hopkins University, its graduates being received for 
graduate work in that institution upon the basis of their 
diplomas. 

The Woman's College of Baltimore has given to the city 
the creditable distinction of being a leading center of female 
education. Although in close affiliation with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church it is undenominational in its teaching corps 
and in its appeal. Its inception was a memorial foundation 
growing out of the first centenary of American Methodism, 
but it is indebted to the inspiration of Rev. Dr. John F. 
Goucher, its president, for its rapid rise to a leading place 
among similar institutions. The first building was opened in 
i88S. The college comprises a group of granite buildings 
centered about a massive church structure, forming a collection 
which for architectual effectiveness is unsurpassed by anything 
else in the city, with the exception of the Johns Hopkins Hos- 
pital. In addition to these institutions the State is fortunate in 
having within it a number of sectarian institutions, which, 
while emphasizing their particular religious affiliations, are 
yet splendid factors in doing the general work of education 
of the youth. 

Resuming again the general subject of Maryland events 
the political action of Baltimore in relation to the judiciary 
in 1882 is to be noticed. It had long been felt that a non- 
partisan judiciary was an imperative need. Under the prevail- 
ing system the administration of justice had frequently been 
open to just criticism. Baltimore with its strenuous and often 
turbulent political activity was especially in need of non- 
partisan judicial administration. This feeling found concrete 
expression in the call of a town meeting, which was held 
October 18, 1882, at which, after thoroughly canvassing the 
subject a non-partisan "New Judge" ticket was nominated and 
at the ensuing election the entire ticket received the endorse- 
ment of the voters by a majority of about eleven thousand. 

On January 21, 1886, the hall of the House of Delegates 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 411 

in the old statehouse at Annapolis was the center of interest 
to the people of the State. The occasion was the election of 
Hon, Henry Lloyd as governor of the state to fill the unexpired 
term of Governor McLane, who had resigned to accept the post 
of Minister to France, and the re-election of United States Sen- 
ator Arthur Pue Gorman, who had been first elected to the Sen- 
ate in 1 88 1. Political feeling in the State was at a high tension 
and the re-election of Mr. Gorman was regarded as a personal 
triumph. Referring to the event the Baltimore Sun declared 
editorially that 'Tn view of the bitter personal opposition to 
Mr. Gormian which developed itself in the recent city and State 
campaigns, the unanimity with which he had been chosen 
* * * is a compliment of which he has every reason to be 
proud."* The political contest of the following year resulted 
in another Democratic victory and that party seemed to be 
intrenched in an impregnable position in the State. The 
strength of Democratic control was not entirely due to the 
bitterness engendered by the Civil War, although the "wavers 
of the bloody shirt" made noisy demonstrations at every 
election, but was rather to be attributed to the fear of "negro 
domination." Not that the colored population in the state was 
so formidable in numbers, but the genius of the Republican 
party gave strength to the apprehension that its elevation to 
power would be followed by negro appointments to public 
office. When the ballots were counted it was found that Elihu 
E. Jackson, of Wicomico County, had carried the state by a 
majority of eight thousand. 

The rapid growth of Baltim.ore City after the war had 
resulted in the creation of a more or less thickly populated 
"belt." This suburban population almost encircled the city and 
extended for varying distances into the limits of Baltimore 
County. Following the tendency towards corporate expan- 
sion prevalent in municipalities throughout the country, Bal- 
timore, through its representatives in the legislature, clamored 
to have submitted to this contiguous population the question of 
annexation to the city. The Legislature granted such authori- 



* Balto. Sun, January 20. if 



412 HISTORY OF MARYLiVND. 

zation on February 21, 1888, and upon May 15th of the same 
year the residents of the "belt" with the exception of the Canton 
district on the southeast water front, voted favorably upon the 
question. The actual annexation took effect June i, 1888. 
Thereby the population of Baltimore was increased by thirty- 
five thousand nine hundred and eighty. One of the condi- 
tions of the annexation was that the "belt" property should 
continue to be assessed at the prevailing county rate of sixty 
cents on the hundred dollars until after the expiration of thir- 
teen years when the city rate was to apply, with certain excep- 
tions in favor of unimproved lands. The question of the con- 
stitutionality of the "belt" annexation was raised and was 
passed upon by the Court of Appeals on November 3, 1888, and 
was affirmed, six of the judges concurring. The main points of 
the decision were that the Legislature had power to extend the 
limits of the city at the expense of the county, and second that 
it could prescribe a different rate of taxation in the annexed 
territory from that existing in the city proper. The principle 
of equality of taxation was declared to be fully gratified by 
establishing a uniform rate within the limits of each individual 
taxing district. During the same yeir the laws of the State were 
codified by Hon. John Prestiss Poe, one of the foremost jurists 
of the state, acting under authorization of the Legislature. The 
simplification and codification of the statutes was not only a 
clear gain for jurisprudence but it was one of the indications 
of the larger consciousness which had been awakened in Mary- 
land since the Civil War.* 

In 1889, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal again be- 
came a disturbing factor in the economy of the State. 
It had been greatly damaged by the spring freshets of 
that year, and the agitation of the question of its future cul- 
minated on February 5, 1890, in Governor Jackson's message 
\o the legislature, recommending the acceptance of a bid for the 
canal made by the Cumberland and Washington Railroad Com- 
pany, who desired to obtain a perpetual lease of the property 
for railroad purposes. This action, however, threatened the 



*Hollander, "History of State Taxation in Maryland." 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 413 

State, which was the chief bondholder, with tedious and ex- 
pensive Htigation, as it involved the rights of the "bondholders 
of 1844." These took the matter into court and secured de- 
cisions both in Maryland and the District of Columbia author- 
izing the "bondholders of 1844" to restore the canal to a 
serviceable condition upon their having given bond in penalty 
of $600,000 that the canal should again be opened for traffic 
by May i, 189 1. 

The agitation in favor of ballot reform which had been ] 
growing in force for a number of years found effective expres- 
sion in the passage by the legislature at its session of 1890 of 
a modified Australian ballot law. The salient features of the 
new law were the erection of polling booths, with desks and 
curtains, in which the voter might prepare his ballot so as to 
insure the principle of compulsory secrecy. The printing by 
the State of "blanket ballots" containing in parallel columns the 
names of the nominees of the several political parties, with a 
small square at the right of each name in which the voter 
might place a cross mark, thus indicating the persons for 
whom his vote was to be counted. A square at the right of 
the party names and emblems enabled him to mark his ballot 
for the whole ticket if he so desired. The act was made to 
apply only to Baltimore City, and Allegany, Anne Arundel, 
Calvert, Cecil, Charles, Howard, Frederick, Prince Georges, 
Queen Annes, Somerset and St. Marys Counties. 

This law was amended by the Legislature on April 2, 1896, 
making its administration bipartisan and throwing greater 
safeguards about the secrecy of the ballot. To this end, glass - 
ballot boxes and the use of white paper for ballots, containing 
coupons with the signature of the election judge, etc., were 
prescribed. In the case of sworn illiterates assistance was to 
be rendered by two clerks, one from each party. ■ In counting 
the ballots, the intention of the voter, when such could be 
arrived at by the election officials, was to govern their action. 
The legislature also provided for annual registrations in Balti- 
more City and registration at eight year intervals in the coun- 
ties. 

On May 14, 1891, a reception was tendered Senator Gor- 



414 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

man by the people at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore, 
in recognition of his services in accomplishing the defeat of 
the Federal election bill, popularly known as the "force" bill. 
The occasion of this bill was the complaints of the Republi- 
cans of the South that a system of intimidation existed which 
proved an effectual deterrent to negroes attempting to vote. 
The proposed legislation would have placed the elections in 
those states under the control of armed Federal deputies. 

The state election of 1891 resulted in democratic success 
and the induction of Hon. Frank Brown into the gubernatorial 
office. He received a majority of twenty-five thousand and 
thirty-one. In that year amendments to the constitution were 
adopted, the principle one of which invested the governor with 
power to veto particular items of an appropriation bill. The 
year 1892 was marked by destructive fires in several towns, 
of the state. On July 6th Pocomoke City, in Wicomico County, 
was visited with a conflagration in which $125,000 worth of 
property was destroyed. This town was particularly unfortu- 
nate, as in 1888 it had suffered by fire a loss of a half million 
dollars. The Pocomoke City fire was followed by one which 
brought upon Cambridge, Dorchester County, a loss of $65,000. 
This fire occurred on the 30th of July and was succeeded by 
a similar calamity at Delmar, a little town in Wicomico County, 
lying partly in Maryland and partly in Delaware. Almost 
the entire place was destroyed and a loss of $100,000 was 
entailed. 

The financial depression which prevailed throughout the 
United States during the first part of the last decade of the 
nineteenth century was keenly felt in Alaryland. Yet the finan- 
cial institutions of the State maintained a strength and sta- 
bility due to conservative management which evoked the 
praise of the moneyed centers of the country. She safely 
w^eathered the storm and came out with her financial character 
and credit unimpaired. The financial depression was reflected 
in industrial lethargy, and thousands of men, willing to work, 
were unable to find employment. Various panaceas, political 
and economic, were proposed for the betterment of the coun- 
try's distressing conditions. The most grotesque of these was 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 415 

"Coxey's Army of the Commonwealth" which traversed the 
state in its approach to Washington, where its leader purposed 
to petition Congress to enact certain remedial legislation. The 
industrial army gained no recruits in Maryland, and after the 
dispersion of the little band of three hundred and thirty-six 
men that finally reached Washington on May 31st, the ragged 
rerrknant encamped at Hyattsville, Md., until as an act of mercy 
they were arrested and sent to the house of correction. 

In the spring of 1894 the industries of Western Maryland 
became involved in the strike of the soft coal miners which 
extended throughout the country. Upon June 5th Governor 
Frank Brown, responding to an appeal addressed to him by 
the sheriff of Alleghany County, called out the Fourth and 
Fifth Regiments and sent them to quell the disorder and to pre- 
serve the peace in that region. The brigade under the com- 
mand of General Stewart Brown proceeded to Frostburg, 
Maryland, where it remained for two weeks, at the expiration 
of which time it was relieved by the First Regiment under the 
command of Col. L. Allison Wilmer. The prompt action of 
the governor without doubt tended to preserve the region from 
scenes of riot in which large losses of property and perhaps 
of life might have occurred. 

One of the principal causes of the financial depression and 
industrial unrest throughout the country was the business un- 
certainty consequent upon the long struggle in Congress over 
the passage of the Wilson Tariff Bill of 1894. That measure 
involved such considerable modifications of the tariff laws of 
the country as to amount to a virtual reversal of its economic 
policy. It passed the House of Representatives and was con- 
sidered by the Senate which returned the bill with six hundred 
and thirty-four amendments. Some of these were so radical 
that the bill was virtually emasculated, but the House was 
compelled to acquiesce in the action of the Senate and the bill 
was passed on the 13th of August. President Cleveland re- 
fused to give his endorsement to the measure in its amended 
form and allowed it to become a law without his signature. 
A prominent historian and publicist alluding to the Wilson 



4i6 HISTORY OF IMARYLAND. 

Bill, says: "It was not the general increase of rate effected in 
the Senate that held the attention of the country, so much as 
the very noticeable activity of a group of senators in the inter- 
est of the sugar manufacturers and dealers. These head- 
strong, stubborn rejectors of political obligations wrecked the 
Democratic program and utterly discredited their party.* This 
citation accurately reflects a very wide contemporary opinion 
as to the true inwardness of the measure as amended. 

During the thirty years which had elapsed since the close 
of the Civil War, the Democratic party had been in possession 
of the government of Maryland. The Republicans had met 
with repeated defeats. But with the lessening importance of 
the issues which grew out of the Civil War, new questions 
arose which compelled a realignment of men and parties. The 
commercial and financial depression to which reference has 
been made bore fruit in the old cry which had frequently been 
heard in the political history of the country — "more money 
and greater flexibility in its issue and circulation." The "free 
silver" movement of 1896 was its concrete expression. The 
Democratic and Populist conventions united in nominating 
Hon. William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska, on a platform 
which pledged the Democratic party and its ally to "the free 
and unlimited coinage of silver, at a ratio of sixteen to one." 
The Republican national convention took an equally positive 
position in favor of "sound money" currency based upon the 
single or gold standard, and put in nomination as its candidate 
Hon. William McKinley, of Ohio, whose name had been asso- 
ciated with an important revenue measure. The "sound 
money" wing of the Democratic party went before the country 
on a separate ticket with Senator Palmer, of Illinois, as its 
candidate. The third ticket, however, was not largely voted, 
that section of the Democratic party which could not follow the 
silver champion preferring to give its support to the Republican 
candidate. Rarely in the history of the nation has the presiden- 
tial contest so stirred the feelings of the people ; the result was 
the complete triumph of the "sound money" cause and the 



*Woodrow Wilson, "History of the American People," vol. 5, pp. 228-9. 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 417 

election of Hon. William McKinley to the presidency of the 
United States. Maryland now swung from her former alleg- 
ience and cast a Republican majority of twenty-one thousand. 
Hon. Lloyd Lowndes, the Republican candidate for governor 
of the state, was also elected, together with a majority of 
the legislature. Maryland could no longer be counted with the 
Solid South, but had entered the column of "doubtful states." 
Indeed a new era of political history had been entered upon and 
the state learned to cherish the greater prerogatives which the 
people might exercise by maintaining an independent vote, 
unorganized and for that reason less calculable and controlable. 
In 1897 an active propaganda in favor of the grant by 
the Legislature of a newi charter for the city of Baltimore was 
carried to successful issue. It was felt that the city government 
was archaic, cumbersome and inadequate. The needs of the 
city could no longer be satisfied with the form of city control 
of the past, which, while it did not give rise to serious scandals 
of administration, was nevertheless too loose for the honest 
and faithful conduct of the municipal departments. Accord- 
ingly the legislature appointed a charter commission and 
authorized it to draw a new instrument of government for 
Baltimore City. The personnel of the commission was of high 
order. It embraced men of breadth of spirit and varied ex- 
perience. In due process the charter commission made its re- 
port which was accepted and the new government for Baltimore 
went into effect. Its salient features were provision for the 
election of a mayor to hold office for four years with a large 
measure of personal responsibility for the proper conduct of the 
several departments of the government; a city council of two 
branches with ordinance-making powers which, however, were 
limited by reserving certain of its powers for the Boards of 
Estimates and Public Improvements. The charter provides for 
departments of finance, law, public safety, public improvement, 
parks and squares, education, charities and correction, and 
taxes and assessments. To the Board of Estimates was given 
the preparation of the annual estimates of the expense of con- 
ducting the municipal government. It was constituted a board 



4i8 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

of reference for the city council in the consideration of applica- 
tion for franchises. All ordinances relating to new improve- 
ments whose cost would be above $2,000 had also to be approv- 
ed by this board. The Board of Estimates was to embrace the 
mayor, city solicitor, comptroller, president of the second 
branch of the city council, and the president of the Board of 
Public Improvement. Other boards specified were the Board 
of Public Safety, to be composed of the president of the fire 
commissioners, the commissioner of health, the inspector of 
buildings, the commissioner of street cleaning and the president 
of the board of police commissioners ; the Board of Public Im- 
provement to consist of the city engineer, the president of the 
water board, the president of the harbor board and the inspec- 
tor of buildings ; the Board of Park Commissioners ; the Board 
of School Commissioners, and that of Charities and Correction. 
There were also constituted a Board of Review and Assess- 
ment, to be composed of the president of the appeal tax court, 
the president of the commissioners for opening streets and the 
mayor. It was given simply advisory powers. Other city 
officers named were the city librarian, superintendent of lamps 
and lighting, surveyor and constables, superintendent of pub- 
lic buildings and the art commission. 

In 1898, the call to war once more thrilled Maryland with 
patriotic responsiveness. Cuba, the last remnant of the mag- 
nificent empire, which Columbus, Pizarro and Cortez had 
given to the crown of Spain, appealed in her extremity to the 
United States for relief from the crushing tyranny against 
which she had long struggled. The appeal was not in vain, 
but the action of this country was stimulated by the mysterious 
destruction of the United States battleship Maine in Havana 
harbor, February 15, 1898. This act was popularly attributed 
to the Spanish, either v/ith or without official cognizance. On 
the 2 1st of the following April Congress declared war with 
Spain and President McKinley issued a call for volunteers. 
Two days later Governor Lowndes called the Maryland troops 
to their colors and on the 25th they encamiped at Pimlico. On 
May 13th the state naval militia, numbering two officers and 



HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 419 

two hundred and thirty men, were mustered into service and 
embarked on the cruiser Dixie at Norfolk, Va. On the 19th 
of May the Fifth Maryland regiment, now officially enrolled 
in the service of the nation, left Pimlico for the concentration 
camp which the War Department had established at Chicka- 
mauga, Tennessee. The rapid movement of events and the 
monotony of victory gave but a small part of the United States 
Army mobilized at Chickamauga and at Tampa, Florida, the 
opportunity to see active service. The Maryland regiments 
were not included in the favored minority. Nevertheless, 
Maryland's proud record of achievement upon the seas in the 
battles of the nation was gloriously sustained by the perfor- 
mances of a son of Western Maryland, Admiral Winfield Scott 
Schley, who won a great naval victory off Santiago, July 3d, 
1898, sharing with the conqueror of Manila the brightest laurels 
of the Spanish- American war. On August 12th the peace pro- 
tocol was signed at Washington. The treaty of Paris between 
Spain and the United States was ratified by the Senate on April 
nth, 1899, ^^ss than a year from the time of the declaration of 
war. One of the gratifying features of this war was the bring- 
ing together upon the battle ground in a common cause of 
the men who had worn the Grey and those who had worn the 
Blue. 

On November 2, 1899, the verdict of the people which 
placed the Republican party in power in the state was reversed 
by the election of Hon. John Walter Smith as governor. The 
United States census of 1900 having disclosed evidence of 
fraud in the enumerations made in some of the southern 
counties with apparent ulterior political intent, the governor 
called a special session of the legislature to take action in the 
matter. This was an extraordinary recourse which had been 
resorted only once before in the history of the State. This 
body assembled at Annapolis and authorized the taking of a 
state census, and before adjourning proceeded to formulate 
and adopt new election laws which added more stringent con- 
ditions to the exercise of the electoral franchise. In this legis- 
lation the m^ain features of the Act of 1896 were retained, but 



420 HISTORY OF MARYLAND. 

party emblems were removed from the ballots, the names of 
candidates grouped together in alphabetical order and a sepa- 
rate cross mark was required to be placed within the square 
next to the name of each candidate for whom the vote was cast. 
In a test case, the Court of Appeals decided that these marks 
must be of a uniform character, be entirely within the square, 
and that there must not be any extraneous marks or blemishes 
of any nature. The effect of this decision was to deprive the 
"intention of the voter" of any weight in determining the 
validity of his ballot. No help was permitted to be given 
illiterates, and even those physically incapacitated were re- 
quired to orally name the candidates for whom they desired 
the clerks to mark their ballots. The party responsible for the 
framing of the new election law disowned any intention of 
making the conditions as rigid as they came to be under the 
court's interpretation. These extreme features were mainly 
intended for the disfranchisement of the illiterate negro vote, 
but they worked general hardship. In the next state election, y 
November 5, 1903, an appalling number of ballots were thrown 
out by the judges and the work of counting the vote was so 
considerable that it was the morning of the third day after the 
election before the result was definitely known. In some pre- 
cints of Baltimore City the count required nearly forty hours. 
In this campaign both parties pledged themselves to the reform 
of the ballot law, while the Democrats based their appeal to the 
electorate principally upon the cry "Maryland is a white man's 
state." The contest resulted in the election of Hon. Edwin 
Warfield, the Democratic candidate for governor ; a large ma- 
jority of the legislature chosen being of the same political 
faith. The 13th of January witnessed the inauguration of 
.the new governor. 1^ d 



INDEX. 



Alexander, Robert, delegate 
to Congress, 159. 

Allegheny County, erected, 
91. 

Allen, John, captain of rang- 
ers for protection of fron- 
tier. 71. 

Altham, Father John, accom- 
panies colonists, 15. 

Andros, Sir Edmond, as- 
sumes government, 79. 

Annapolis, becomes seat of 
government, 78 ; made a 
city in 1708, 79 ; council of 
Colonial Governors meets 
at, 104; Washington re- 
ceived at, 251 ; offered to 
general government for 
capitol, 258 ; Washington 
resigns his commission at, 
259; attempt to remove 
Naval Academy from, 398. 

Annapolis & Potomac Canal, 
321. 

Anne Arundel County, 
founded in 1650, 66. 

Antietam, Battle of, 381. 

Ark & Dove, set sail from 
Cowes, November 22d, 
1633, 16. 



Armistead Monument, 329. 

Armstrong, Captain, killed, 
246. 

Army of the Revolution, re- 
organization of Maryland 
Troops, 178-179; Maryland 
Troops in Congressional 
Army, 185 ; composition of 
Maryland Line, 188. 

Assembly called by Gov- 
ernor in 1635, 30; sum- 
moned by Governor in 1638, 
3 1 ; vetoes laws of Lord 
Baltimore, 32 ; new as- 
sembly called in 1639, 41 ; 
constitution of, 42 ; con- 
vened by Puritans at Pat- 
uxent 1657, 62. 

Association of Freemen of 
Maryland, 151. 

Associators, organ ization 
known as, 132. 

Australian ballot, 413. 

Avalon, province of, grant- 
ed George Calvert, 13. 

Ballard, Robt., surveyor, 277. 

Baltimore, addition to in 1732, 

88; town laid out 1729, 88; 

Congress removes to, 182 ; 

421 



422 



INDEX. 



Baltimore clippers, 280 ; 
defense of 1812, 300; 
growth of, 307 ; yellow 
fever epidemic, 309 ; con- 
vention of Unionists meets 
at, 363 ; Republican conven- 
tion 1864 meets ,'at, 390 ; 
scsqui-centennial, 403 ; an- 
nexation act, 1888, 411; 
flood of iS68>, 400; Nation- 
al Democratic Convention, 
1872, 401 ; new charter, 417. 

Baltimore, Lord. See Calvert 
and Proprietary. 

Baltimore County, founded 
in 1659, 66. 

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 
312; 321. 

Baltimore & Susquehanna 
Railroad, 313; 322. 

Banks, Gen., assumes com- 
mand of Baltimore, 370. 

Barney, Commodore, taken 
prisoner, 297. 

Barney, Capt. Joshua, 277. . 

Battle Monument, 329. 

Beatty, Capt., slain, 244. 

Beauregard, General, 365. 

Benedict, British troops land 
at, 295. 

Bennett, Richard, head of 
Puritan colony in Anne 
Arundel, 53 ; receives com- 
mission to reduce Virginia 
and Barbadoes, 54 ; declared 
governor of Virginia, 55. 

Benson, Captain, 245. 

Bill of Rights, adopted Nov. 



3d, 1776, 179. 

Black Friday, 401. 

Blackstones Island, colonists 
land on, 19. 

Bladen, Thomas, governor 
1742, 90. 

Blair, Montgomery, post- 
master-general, 365; 393; 
401. 

Boundaries of Maryland, 94* 

Boundary disputes, 95-100.'^ 

Bowie, Lieut. Oden, 335. 

Braddock, Gen., meets Colon- 
ial Governors, 105 ; killed, 
107. 

Bradford, Augustus W., 362 ; 
governor, 373. 

Brent, Giles, appointed lieu- 
tenant-general, 44. 

Brent, Mistress Margaret, 
administratix of Gov. Leon- 
ard Calvert, 49. 

Brooke, Richard, brings col- 
ony to Charles, 54; com- 
mander Charles Co., 54. 

Brooke, Robert, president of 
council and acting gover- 
nor, 55. 

Brown, Frank, elected gov- 
ernor, 414. 

Brown, Geo. Wm., 352. 

Brown, Gen. Stewart, 415. 

Bryan, W. J., 416. 

Buchanan, Capt., commands 
the Merrimac, 377. 

Bull Run, battle of, 371. 

Butler, Gen., stationed at 
Federal Hill, 369. 



INDEX. 



423 



Cabot, Sebastian, starts on 
voyage of discovery, May, 
1498, 6; probably visited 
Worcester County, 7 ; 
touches American Contin- 
ent, 7 ; discovers Newfound- 
land and Island of St. John, 

7. 

Cabot, John, license issued to, 
Feb. 3d, 1498, to seize 
English ships, 6. 

Calvert, Benedict Leonard, 
nominal governor, 1684, 74 ; 
becomes Lord Proprietary, 
Feb. 20th, 1714, 84; dies 
April i6th, 1715, 84. 

Calvert, Benedict Leonard, 
governor 1727, 90. 

Calvert, Cecil, infant son of 
Charles Calvert, nominal 
governor, 73. 

Calvert, Cecilius, receives 
charter, 14; rejects laws 
submitted by assembly and 
prepares others, 31 ; grants 
people right to originate 
laws, 41 ; re-establishes pro- 
prietary government, 57 ; 
government restored to, 
after Puritan rebellion, 63 ; 
dies Nov. 30th, 1675, 72. 

Calvert, Charles, becomes 
governor in 1662, 66; be- 
comes Lord Proprietary, 
Nov. 30th, 1675, 72 ; returns 
to England in 1676, y^^ ; re- 
turns to Maryland in 1680, 
73 ; appoints council of 9 



deputies, 74 ; returns to 
England in 1684, 74; dies 
20th Feb., 1714, 83. 
Calvert, Charles, April i6th, 
171 5, becomes Lord Pro- 
prietary, 84 ; governors 
under, 90; dies in 1751, 90. 
Calvert, Charles, governor in 

1727, 90. 
Calvert, Frederick, becomes 
Proprietary in 1751, 10 1 ; 
dies in 1771, 144. 
Calvert, Sir George, interested 
in London Company, 12 ; 
early life of, 12-13 ; royal 
commissioner of Virginia 
Company, 13 ; sails to New- 
foundland, 13 ; sails to Vir- 
ginia, 13 ; explores Chesa- 
peake, 13 ; prepared charter 
of Maryland, 14. 
Calvert, Leonard, appointed 
governor, 15 ; authorized to 
approve laws, 41 ; returns 
to England, 44; returns to 
Maryland, 45 ; compelled to 
flee to Virginia, 46; retakes 
St. Marys, 47; dies in St. 
Marys, 48. 
Calvert, Philip, appointed sec- 
retary of province, 61 ; ap- 
pointed governor, 64; su- 
perseded by Charles Cal- 
vert, 1662, 66; commis- 
sioner to settle boundary 
dispute, 95. 
Calvert County, founded in 
1654, 66. 



424 



INDEX. 



Cambridge, great fire, 414. 

Camden, Lord, resolution of 
House of Delegates com- 
mending, 133. 

Campbell, Captain, raises com- 
pany for Canadian expedi- 
tion, 90. 

Canada, expedition against, 
90. 

Carmichael, Judge Richard, 

396. 
Carmichael, Judge Richard 

Bennett, 377. 

Capitol, corner-stone laid 
Sept. i8th, 1793, 278. 

Caroline County, erected, 91. 

Carroll, Charles, commission- 
er to purchase Indian lands 
87 ; Baltimore on lands of, 
88 ; commissioner to Albany 
convention, 102. 

Carroll of Carrollton, Charles, 
139; member of correspon- 
dence committee, 148 ; op- 
poses increase in pay of 
delegates, 210 ; 272 ; first U. 
S. senator, 275 ; opposition 
to slavery, 342. 

Carroll, Charles, barrister, 
member of correspondence 
committee, 148. 

Carroll, Daniel, 272. 

Carroll, Rev. John, first Cath- 
olic bishop, 26^^ 

Carroll County, erected, 91. 

Cecil County, erected, 91. 

Charles County, founded in 
1658, 66. \ 



Charter of Maryland, pre- 
pared by George Calvert, 
14; issued to Cecilius Cal- 
vert, 14; provisions of, 14; 
bill in Parliament for reduc- 
tion of, 81. 

Chase, Samuel, delegate to 
Congress, 142 ; member cor- 
respondence committee, 
148; delegate to Congress, 

159- 
Chesapeake and Delaware 

Canal, 269. , 

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, 
311; 321; 412. 

Chesapeake 'Bay, discovered 
in 1585 by Governor Lane 
of Virginia, 7 ; explored by 
Captain John Smith, 9; ex- 
plored by John Pory, 1 1 ; 
George Calvert explores, 
13; blockaded by British, 
1812, 291. 

Cincinnati, Society of, 257 ; 
Maryland officers, 257. 

Civil War, Massachusetts 
regi'nent mobbed, 366 ; 
Cape. Johnson organizes 
Confederate company, 369 
Battle of Bull Run, 371 
Battle of Front Royal, 377 
Lee invades Maryland, 379 
Battle of Antietam, 381 
Battle of Gettysburg, 385. 

Claiborne, William, first rebel- 
lion, 27-30; sent to Eng 
land for trial, 29 ; attainted 
33 ; presents petition tc 



INDEX. 



425 



^ g', 34; takes possession 
Tx^Kent, 45; obtains pos- 
session of province, 46 ; re- 
ceives commission to re- 
duce Virginia and Barba- 
does, 54 ; declared secretary 
of Virginia, 55 ; Kent and 
Palmer's Islands, delivered 
to, 55 ; with Richard Ben- 
nett takes possession of 
Province, 57. 

Clerg>% tax for support of, 92. 

Coale, Jas. M., president C. 
& O. Canal, 325. 

Coke, Dr. Thomas, super- 
intendent of Methodist 
Church, 268. 

Colonists, names of first, 42. 

Committee of Correspondence, 

151- 

Committee of Safety, 151 ; 
given supreme power, 182 ; 
surrenders its powers, 185. 

Confederation, articles of 

^gned, 217-19. 

Confiscation of British prop- 
erty, 215-16. 

Congress, colonial representa- 
tives to, 126; proceedings 
approved, 128; meets in 
New York, 128; delegates 
to, 148. 

Conolly, John, appointed 
Lieutenant-Colonel by Gen- 
eral Gage, 154. 

Constitution, new constitu- 
tion and State government, 
chapter X ; constitutional 



convention, 160; committee 
to report on form of gov- 
ernment, 177 ; agreed to by 
convention, election order- 
ed, Nov. 3d, 1776, 179; 
judicial system, 180; gov- 
ernment and elections 
under, 180-181 ; constitu- 
tion ratified, 274; amend- 
ments of 1840, 320; con- 
stitution of 1867, 396. 
Convention, assumes govern- 
ment, 147. 
Coode, John, attempt to ex- 
cite rebellion, 74; heads 
Protestant revolution, 75. 
Copley, Sir Lionel, appointed 
governor, 76; succeeded in 
1 69 1 by Nicholson, 79. 
Cornwallis, Captain, com- 
mands vessels of Calvert 
against attack of Claiborne, 
29; appointed to command 
expedition against Indians, 

45- 
Court, established in Kent, 31 ; 

established in St. Marys, 

1639, 41- 

Cowpens, battle of, 231. 

Coxey's Army, 415. 

Cresap, Michael, 152. 

Cresap, Col. Thomas, Indian 
fighter, 112. 

Cresap, Jr., Joseph, 152. 

Crisfield, John W., 362. 

Croft, Captain, raises com- 
pany for Canadian expedi- 
tion, 190. 



426 



INDEX. 



Cromwell, Oliver, Baltimore 
and Puritans appeal to, 60. 
Cross, Col. Triieman, 333. 
Cuban War, 418. 

Dagworthy, Colonel, com- 
mands Fort Frederick, iii. 

Dagworthy, Capt., asserts 
right to command at Cum- 
berland, 109. 

Darrell, Thomas, 42. 

Davis, Henry Winter, elect- 
ed to Congress, 349. 

Davis, Richard, 152. 

Declaration of Independence, 

159- 

De Kalb, death, 227 ; monu- 
ment to, 227. 

Democratic National Conven- 
tion, i860, 357. 

Democratic Convention 1872 
at Baltimore, 401. 

Deputies of Charles Calvert, 
appointment, 74 ; dissatis- 
faction with, 75. 

District of Columbia, laid out 
1790, 277. 

Dorchester County, erected, 
91. 

Dorsey, Col. Edward, 80. 

Dred Scott decision, 354. 

Dulany, Daniel, opposes taxa- 
tion of colony, 127. 

Dulany, Patrick, lays out 
town of Frederick, 88. 

Dunmore, Gov., schemes of 
against patriots, 153-4; 
raises companies to support 



royal cause, 154; a. ^sted, 

154- 

Dutch of New York, drive 
out settlers beyond Schuyl- 
kill, 41. 

Duties, port, 66. 

Duvall, Lieut., killed, 248. 

Eastern Shore R. R., 321. 

Eden, Robert, Gov., 144; 
commanded to leave the 
colony, 157. 

Elkridge Landing, 88. 

Electoral College for the Sen- 
ate of Md. and the Van 
Bureri electors, 314-319. 

Elliott, Lieut. Jesse Duncan, 
289. 

Eltonhead, William, sent by 
Lord Baltimore with in- 
structions to Gov. Stone, 
57; heads party sent to re- 
cover records, 58; shot by 
Puritans, 60. 

Elzey, John, commissioner 
to make settlements on 
Eastern Shore, 94. 

Emancipation Proclamation, 
381. 

Episcopal Church, first bish- 
op in America, 268. 

Evelin, Capt. George, appoint- 
ed commander of Kent, 31. 

Everheart, Sergeant, 233. 

Fairfax, Nicholas, 42. 

Fell, Edward, addition to 

' Baltimore on lands of, 88. 



INDEX. 



427 



Fendall, Josias, heads party 
sent to recover records, 58 ; 
appointed governor July 
loth, 1656, 60; arrested by 
Puritans, 61 ; schemes to de- 
prive proprietary of pow- 
ers, 64; attempt to incite 
rebellion, 74. 

Findlay, J. V. L., 374. 

First settlement of Maryland, 
16. 

Fitzhugh, Colonel, commands 
forces against French, 103. 

Fleet, Capt. Henry, accom- 
panies Gov. Calvert as in- 
terpreter, 21. 

Ford, Lieut. Col., 238; mor- 
tally wounded, 243. 

Ford, 256. 

Fort McHenry, 286. 

Fort Mifflin, attack upon, 196. 

Fort Sumpter, fired upon, 

365- 
Fort Washington, defense of, 

171. 
Fox, George, preaches in 

Maryland, 70-71. 
Frederick, laid out 1745, 88. 
Frederick county, erected, 91. 
Frederick county, erected, 

91- 
Fredericktown, burned by 

British, 292. 
French and Indian War, 
chapter VI ; appropriation 
for, 103 ; battle at Monon- 
gohela, 106 ; forty thous- 
ands pounds appropriated 



\. 



by Maryland, no; settle- 
ments in [Western Mary- 
land abandoned, 112; En- 
glish defeated at Fort Du- 
quesne, 118. 

Frenchtown, burned by Brit- 
ish, 299. 

Front Royal, battle of, 377. 

Fuller, Captain, commander 
expedition, 56; placed at 
head of Province by com- 
missioners, 57. 

Garrett, Mrs. Mary E., gift 
to J. H. U., 409. 

Gary, Jas. A., 403. 

Gas Company, formed, 330. 

Genet, minister of French^ 
Directory, 281. X. 

Georgetown, laid out in 1751, 
89. 

Georgetown (on Eastern 
shore) burned by British, 
292. 

Gerard, Richard, 42. 

Germantown, attack upon, 
193-196. 

Gettysburg, battle of, 385.- 

Genalles, John, commands 
party sent to watch insurg- 
ents, 45. 

'jilman, Dan. C, Pres. J. H. 
U., 408. 

Gilmour, Col. Harry, 385. 

Gist, Genl., 249 ; 256. 

Goldsborough, Robert, dele- 
gate to Congress, 142. 

Goldsborough, Wm. S., 362. 



428 



INDEX. 



Gorman. Arthur Pne, re- 
elected to U. S. Senate, 
411. 

Goucher, Rev. John F., pres. 
Woman's College, 410. 

Government under first Con- 
stitution, 180. 

Grants of lots in City of St. 
Marys and tracts in inter- 
ior, terms of, 30. 

Greeley, Horace, presidential 
nominee, 401. 

Green, Henry, 42. 

Green, Jonas, printer to the 
Province ; issues Maryland 
Gazette, 88. 

Greene, Thomas, appointed 
governor of Maryland, 48 ; 
proclaims pardon for all 
rebels but Ingle, 49 ; issues 
proclamation directing seiz- 
ure of corn, 49. 

Griffith, Goldsborough S., 

387- 
Gunby, Col., 238; 256. 

Habeas Corpus, writ of sus- 
pended by Lincoln, 370. 

Hall, John, member corres- 
pondence committee, 148. 

Hall, 256. 

Hamilton, Wm. T., 40 ^"^ 
elected governor, 403. 

Hancock, Fort Frederick 
erected at, in. jt-j^r-^ "^ 

Hanson, Alex. Conteej',286. 

Harford County, erected, 91. 

Harford Henry, province 



devised to, 144. 
Harrison, Robt. Hanson, 276; 

272 ; justice Supreme Court, 

277. 
Hart, John, governor 171 5, 

90. 
Harvey, governor, visits St. 

Marys, 27. 
Hatton, Thomas, secretary of 

Province, slain in battle 

with Puritans March 25th, 

i655» 59- 
Havre de Grace, burned by 

British, 292. 
Hawley, Jerome, 42. 
Heamans, Capt., commander 

of the "Golden Lyon," 58. 
Henry, John, U. S. senator, 

275- 
Heron Islands, colonists land 

on, 19. 

Hicks, Gov., sides with Un- 
ion, 361. 

Hill, Captain, appointed Gov- 
ernor by council, retires to 
Virginia, 47. 

Hill, Capt. John, 42^ 

Hood, Zachariah, compelled 
to resign as stamp distribu- 
tor, 125. 

Hopkins, Commodore, com- 
mands first Continental 
fleet, 157. 

Howard, Col., 240. 

Howard, General, 233 ; 256. 

Howard, John Eager, 281. 

Husbands, Edward, charged 
with attempt to poison gov- 



INDEX. 



429 



ernor and assembly, y2>- 

Indented apprentices, 69. 

Indians of St. Marys, account 
of, 23. 

Indians, missionaries to, 35 ; 
Tayac baptised, 37 ; Nanti- 
cokes, 38 ; Indian tribes in 
Maryland, 38 ; expedition 
against in 1639, 39 ; upris- 
ing- of Nanticokes, 55 ; treaty 
with Susquehannahs, 55 ; 
Senecas invade Maryland, 
71 ; required to pay tribute 
to Proprietary, 86 ; laws for 
protection of, 86 ; purchase 
of lands from Six Nations, 
87 ; co-operate with Mary- 
land troops, 115. 

Industries, act to encourage, 
92 ; pig-iron, 123. 

Ingle, Capt. Richard, stirs up 
insurrection, 45 ; captured, 

45. 49- 
Insurrection against whiskey 
tax, 280. 

Jackson, Elihu E., elected 
governor, 411. 

Jamestown, founded May 
13th, 1607, 8. 

Jenifer, Daniel, of St. 
Thomas, 2y2. 

Jews, religion of not tolerat- 
ed, 146 ; enfranchised, 330. 

Johnson, Capt. Bradley T., 

369 ; 378 ; 390- 

Johnson, Reverdy attorney- 



general, 338; 362; minis- 
ter to England, 400. 

Johnson, Thomas, 135 ; elect- 
ed governor, 184; 276; ad- 
dress of legislature in hon- 
or of, 214. 

Johnson, William Cost, 345. 

Johnson, Jr., Thomas, mem- 
ber correspondence com- 
mittee, 148; delegate to 
Congress, 159. 

Jones, Thomas, judge Court 
of Appeals, 201. 

Johns Hopkins University, 
407. 

Jones Falls, 400. 

Jordan, Captain, raises com- 
pany for Canadian expedi- 
tion, 90. 

Joseph, William, president of 
council of deputies, 74. 

Judicial System, under consti- 
tution 1776, 180. 

Judiciary, Court of Appeals 
organized, 201. 

Kane, Col., arrested, 371. 
Kane, Marshal, 367. 
Kenly, Col., 372 ; appointed 
provost marshal, 371; 334; 

Key, Fraticis Scott, composes 
Star Spangled Banner, 

304- 
Key, John Ross, 152. 
Kent County, founded in 

1650, 66. 
Kent Island, court established 



f30 



INDEX. 



in, 31 ; Capt. Evelin ap- 
pointed commander of, 31 ; 
Calvert makes expedition 
against, 31. 

King, Dr. Robert, commis- 
missioner to purchase In- 
dian lands, 87. 

King Williams School, es- 
tablished 1696, 80. 

Knounothingism, 347. 

La Fayette, entertained at 
Baltimore, 250 ; visits An- 
napolis, 267 ; naturalized, 
267 ; visits Maryland in 
1825, 330. 

Latrobe, Benj. H., surveys ca- 
nal route, 269. 

Laws, important acts passed 
in 1639, 41 ; summary of 
laws passed in 1663-4, 67; 
revised and ascertained, "^2 ; 
codified, 412. 

Laws of England, declared 
to be in force in Province, 
67. 

Lee, Robt. E., invades Mary- 
land, 379. 

Lee, Thomas Sim, elected 
governor 1779, 214. 

Leonard, Col. Wm. J., 395. 

Lewger, 37; 46. 

Lewis, Rev. T. H., pres. 
Western Md. College, 409. 

Lexington, battle of, 149. 

Lincoln, Abraham, emancipa- 
tion proclamation, 381. 

Lloyd, Col. Edward, candi- 



date for governor, 214. 

Lloyd, Henry, elected gov- 
ernor, 411. 

London Company, founded in 
1606, 8 ; fleet of, sets sail 
from Blackvvell, Dec. 19th, 
1606, 8; letters patent is- 
sued to April loth, 1606, 8; 
fleet of, driven into Chesa- 
peake, 8; 2d charter is- 
sued May 23d, 1609, 11; 
3d charter issued March 
I2th, 1610, II ; writ of quo 
warranto issued against in 
November, 1623, 11. 

Long Island, battle of, Mary- 
land troops in, 162-166. 

Lowndes, Lloyd, elected gov- 
ernor, 417. 

McClellan, Gen. Geo. B., 372. 

AlcHenry, James, 272. 

Mackall, Benjamin, judge 
Court of Appeals, 201. 

McKeasy, Alexander, 112. 

McSherry, Rev. Wm., 24. 

Maryland, first settlement of, 
16. 

Maryland Cross-cut Canal, 
321. 

Maryland line. Col. Otho H. 
Williams, given command, 
229 ; battle at Eutaw 
Springs, 247; 251; part 
taken in Revolution, 255. 

Marine, State marine re-es- 
tablished, 255. 

Martin, Luther, 272 ; 273. 



INDEX. 



431 



Mattapany, missionary sta- 
tion established at, 34 ; 35 ; 
expedition against Nanti- 
cokes, ordered to rendez- 
vous at, 56; deputies be- 
sieged at, 75. 

Medcalf, John, 42. 

Medical Society of Baltimore, 
406. 

Mercer, John Francis, 272. 

Merrimac and Monitor, en- 
gagement between, 377. 

Methodist Church, superin- 
tendent appointed in 
America, 268. 

Mexican War, Col, Freeman 
Cross murdered, 333 ; City 
of Mexico, assaulted, 337. 

Mint established, 65. 

Missouri Compromise, 353. 

Money, paper money issued, 
93 ; tobacco, legal tender, 
93 5 paper money issued by 
convention, 151 ; Continen- 
tal issues redeemed, 217; 
bills of credit issued, 252 r 
paper currency, issue of 
1786, 263-4. 

Monmouth, battle of, 203, 
206. 

Monongahela, battle at, 106. 

Montgomery County, erected, 
91 ; 177. 

Murdock, William, represen- 
tative to Colonial Congress, 
126. 

Murray, James, judge Court 
of Appeals, 201. 



Naturalization, laws passed 
in 1666, 70; 213. 

Naval Academy, attempt to 
remove, 398. 

Naval affairs, Colonial, en- 
gagement between vessels 
of Baltimore and Claiborne, 
29; 58; expedition against 
Spanish dominions, 89 ; 
Revolution, first continental 
fleet, 156-7; Chesapeake 
fleet, 1777-9, 208; War of 
1812, capture of Caledonia 
and Detroit, 289 ; Chesa- 
peake Bay blockaded, 291 ; 
British fleet in Chesapeake, 
293 ; Commodore Barney 
destroys his fleet, 296 ; Civil 
War ; Merrimac and Mon- 
itor, 376. 

Newfoundland, George Cal- 
vert sails for, 13. 

New- Judge movement, 410. 

Newport, Capt. Christopher, 
commander of fleet of Lon- 
don Company, 8. 

Newspaper, Maryland Gazette 
issued 1745, 88. 

Nicholson, Francis, governor 
in 169 1, 79. 

Nicholson, commands the De- 
fense, 156; given command 
of the Virginia, 157. 

North Point, battle of, 300. 

Notely, Thomas, appointed 
deputy governor, 73. 

Odd Fellows, organized in 



432 



INDEX. 



Baltimore 1819, 309. 
Ogle, Samuel, governor in 

1727, 90. 
Ohio Company, grant to, loi. 
Oldham, Capt., 244. 

Paca, William, 135 ; delegate 
to Congress, 142 ; member 
correspondence committee, 
148 ; delegate to Congress, 
159; judge U. S. District 
Court, 277, 

Peabody, George, 407. 

Peabody Institute, 407. 

Peggy Stewart, burning of, 
142. 

Pheypo, Mark, commands 
party sent to watch insur- 
gents, 45. 

Piscataways, territory of, 35. 

Pitt, William, resolution of 
House of Delegates com- 
mending, 133. 

Plater, Geo., president Con- 
stitutional Convention, 274. 

Plymouth Company, founded 
in 1606, 8 ; letters patent 
issued to May loth, 1606, 8. 

Pocomoke City, great fire, 
414. 

Poe, John P., 412. 

Population of Province, 66; 
in 1671, 82; in 1748 and 
1756, 91; in 1761, 123. 

Pory, John, explores Chesa- 
peake, II. 

Port Tobacco, 37. 



Post, public, established 1695, 
80. 

Potomac Company, 265 ; sur- 
renders its charter, 311. 

Potomac River, explored by 
Capt. John Smith, 10. 

Potts, Richard, U. S. district 
attorney, 277. 

Preston, Richard, 58. 

Price, Thomas, 152. 

Prince George's County erec- 
ted, 91. 

Princeton, taken by Ameri- 
cans, 175. 

Printing Press, established 
1726, 88. 

Proprietary, veto power, 33 ; 
attempt to deprive of rights, 
yj ; opposition to duties 
levied by, 85 ; quit rents of 
abolished, 217 ; $50,000 paid 

/in commutation of claims, 
261. 

Protestant Revolution, chap- , 
ter II ; chapter IV. 

Providence, Puritans settle 
at, 53 ; expedition, sent by 
Gov. Stone against, 58 ; be- 
comes seat of government, 
78 ; name changed to An- 

J napolis, 78. 

Public School System, 404. 

Pulaski, Count, forms his 
legion, 199. 

Puritans, settle in Anne Arun- 
del, 53 ; send representa- 
tives to St. Marys, 54 ; Gov. 
Stone sends expedition 



INDEX. 



433 



against Providence, 58 ; 
convene Assembly at Patux- 
ent 1657, 62 ; ascendency of 
ended 1658, 6^. 
Purviance, Robt., 2yy. 

Queen Anne's County, erect- 
ed, 91. 

Ramsey, 256. 

Ramsey, Col. N., 277. 

Rawlings, Col. Moses, 152. 

Redemptioners, 69. 

Religion, toleration guaranteed 
by oafh of office, 50; act 
of Assembly to protect free- 
dom of worship, 50-53 ; 
Catholics disfranchised by 
Puritan government, 57 ; 
intolerance of Puritans, 57 ; 
Episcopal Church de- 
nounced by Puritan Assem- 
^h'y 57 ; pledge of Lord 
Baltimore not to repeal law 
in favor of toleration, 62 ; 
religious toleration extend- 
ed to "Friends," 70 ; first 
attempt to establish Episco- 
pal Church, y^ ; Episcopal 
Church established May 
loth, 1692, 76 ; persecution 
of Catholics, yy; toleration 
not extended to Jews, 146 ; 
state church disestablished 
by convention 1776, 181 ; 
ecclesiastical organizations 
in America, 268. 

Restoration of the Province, 



chapter V. 

Revell, Randall, commissioner 
to make settlements on 
Eastern Shore, 94. 

Revolution, depredations on 
Bay counties, 153; regular 
force formed by Maryland, 
151; powder mills erected; 
implements of war manu- 
factured, 153 ; merchant 
vessels armed, 155 ; the De- 
fense recaptures prizes, 155 ; 
Defense captures the Otter, 
155 ; batteries erected near 
Baltimore and Annapolis, 
155 ; instructions given dele- 
gates, 159; Maryland raises 
more troops, 160; Mary- 
land troops at Long Island, 
162-166 ; covers Washing- 
ton's retreat, 167 ; Battle of 
White Plains, 169 ; Trenton 
and Princeton taken, 173- 
175 ; insurrection in Wor- 
cester County, 184; attack 
upon Fort Mifflin, 196; at- 
tack upon Germantown, 
193-196 ; Maryland line sta- 
tioned at Wilmington, while 
main body of troops at Val- 
ley Forge, 198; Battle of 
Mommouth, 206 ; Mary- 
land's part in, 255 ; cam- 
paign of 1777, chapter XI; 
Southern campaigns, chap- 
ter XIV. 
Revolution, Protestant, chap- 
ter 11. 



434 



\ 
INDEX. 



Ringgold, Thomas, represen- 
tative to Colonial Congress, 
126. 

Roman, J. Dixon, 362. 

Rumsey, Benjamin, judge of 
Court of Appeals, 201. 

Rumsey, James, invents first 
steamboat, 267. . 

St. Clements, colonists land 
on, 19. 

St. Marys City, colonists set- 
tle at, March 27th, 1634, 
21; grant of lots in, 30; 
seat of government removed 
from, 78; possession ob- 
tained by Baltimore, 61. 

St. Mary's County, founded 
in 1634, 66. 

St. Mattapany. See Matta- 
pany. 

St. Gregory, Potomac given 
name of, 19. 

St. Johns College, 406. 

Saire, William, 42. 

Scarborough, Edmond, com- 
missioner to make settle- 
ments on Eastern Shore, 
194. 

Schley, Winfield Scott, 419. 

Schools and colleges — King 
Williams School, establish- 
ed 1696, 80. 

School System, adopted, 329. 

Secession, Northern views on 

right of, 375. 
Senators, election of, 275 ; 



one to be from each shore, 

275- 

Sharpe, G o v., commands 
forces against French, 103. 

Slavery, laws relating to pas- 
sed 1663-4, 67-68 ; introduc- 
tion of, 68 ; in Maryland, 
339 ; ordinance introduced 
by Thomas Jefferson, 340 ; 
Abolition Society, 342 ; Col- 
onization Society, 343 ; in- 
surrection of Nat. Turner, 
344; Wilmot proviso, 354; 
Helper's Inpending Crisis, 
356 ; Maryland Constitution 
of '64 abolishes, 389 ; slaves 
.serve in Revolutionary 
army, 229. 

Slye, Robert, associate in 
Fendall's rebellion, 64. 

Smallwood, William, 135 ; 
given command of bat- 
talion, 151; wounded, 169; 
succeeds to command of 
Maryland line, 227; 229; 
256; elected governor, 269. 

Smith, Capt. John, explores 
Chesapeake, 9 ; explores. 
Potomac, 10. 

Smith, Capt., 240. 

Smith, 256. 

Smith, Gen. Samuel, 300. 

Smith, John Walter, elected 
governor, 419. 

Somerset County, erected, 91. 

Spain, expedition against 
Spanish dominions, 89. 

Stamp Act, 124; Assembly 



INDEX. 



435 



protests against, 125 ; stamp 
distributor compelled to re- 
sign, 125 ; declared uncon- 
stitutional, 132 ; 133. 
Star Spangled Banner, 304. 
Statehouse, provision for erec- 
tion, 43 ; destroyed by fire, 
80; house of Col. Ed. 
Dorsey used, 80. 
State Sovereignty, convention 
instructs delegates to main- 
tain, 182. 
Steamboats, invented by Rum- 

sey, 267. 
Stevenson, Col., 152. 
Stewart, Maj. John, receives 
medal for gallant conduct 
at Stoney Point, 207. 
Strike on B. & O. R. R., 1877, 

402. 
Strike of 1894, 41 5- 
Stone, Thomas, delegate to 

Congress, 159; 272. 
Stone, 256. 

Stone, William, appointed 
governor, 50 ; commission 
seized and removed from 
office, 55; reinstated in of- 
fice, 55 ; sends party to re- 
cover records, 58 ; wounded 
in battle with Puritans, 
March 25th, 1655, 59. 
Suffrage, right of extended, 

282. 
Susquehanna Canal, 264. 
Susquehannahs, treaty with, 

55- 
Swann, Thomas, elected gov- 



ernor, 350. 

Talbot County, founded in 
1660-61, 66. 

Taney, Roger B., Dred Scott 
decision, 354; denies right 
of president to suspend 
writ of habeas corpus, 370. 

Tasker, Benjamin, commis- 
sioner to Albany Conven- 
tion, 102. 

Taxation, Province exempt 
from taxation by Crown, 
14 ; Lord Baltimore granted 
duty on tobacco, 73 ; op- 
position to duties levied by 
Proprietary, 85 ; tax on 
bachelors, 1 1 1 ; contest be- 
tween Assembly and Pro- 
prietary as to right to im- 
pose, 122 ; Stamp Act im- 
posed, 124; Congress levies 
tax on whiskey, 278 ; whis- 
key insurrection, 280. 
Tax on tea, levied by Parlia- 
ment, 134; resolutions of 
Maryland Assembly, 135 ; 
agreement of people for 
non-importation, 136; "The 
Good Intent" compelled to 
return, 136; the "Mary- 
land Jane" returned to Lon- 
don, 142; the "Peggy 
Stewart" burned, 142. 
Tayac, chief of Piscataways, 
converted to Christianity, 

35- 
Taylor, General, elected presi- 



436 



INDEX. 



dent, 338. 
Telegraph, constructed from 
Baltimore to Washington, 

331- 

Tide Water Canal Co., 322. 

Tilghman, Edward, represen- 
tative to Colonial Congress, 
126. 

Tilghman, Matthew, 135 ; 
delegate to Congress, 142 ; 
on correspondence commit- 
tee, 148 ; delegate to Con- 
gress, 159; president of 
constitutional convention 
1776, 177. 

Tithes, collection of opposed, 

137^- 

Tobacco, inspection house for, 
89 ; legal tender, 94. 

Tories, taxation of, 212 ; prop- 
erty confiscated, 215-16; in- 
surrection of, 253. 

Towson, Capt. Nathan, 288 ; 
289. 

Trade, with foreign govern- 
ments prohibited, 56. 

Treaty, with "Six Nations," 
87. 

Trenton, taken by Americans, 

173-4- 
Trueman, Major, commands 
expedition against Senec- 
cas, J2 ; impeached for put- 
ting Indian chiefs to death, 
72. 

Union of colonies, plan for 
disapproved, 102. 



University of Maryland, 405 ; 

406. 
Upper Marlborough, records 

removed to, 155. 

VY^azzini, Giovanni, first to 
cross mouth of the Chesa- 
peake, 7. 

\'irginia Company. See Lon- 
don Company. 

Voting, secret ballot inaugu- 
rated, 283. 

Voyage of first colonists, ac- 
count of, 16-19. 

Wallis, S. Teackle, 361. 

War of 181 2, chapter XVII. 

Ward, Rev. J. T., president 
Western Maryland College, 
409. 

Ware. Francis, 135. 

Warfield, Edwin, elected gov- 
ernor, 420. 

Warren, Lieutenant, com- 
mands Clairborne's vessel, 
29. 

Warren, Thomas, 152. 

Washington, George, aid-de- 
camp to Braddock, 105 ; 
elected President, 276 ; sent 
on embassy to France, 102 1 
resigns commission of col- 
onel, 104 ; portrait of, 
placed in House of Dele- 
gates, 267 ; given command 
of army against French 
Directory by President 
Adams, 281 ; monument 
erected to, 329. 



INDEX. 



437 



Washington City, taken by 

British, 297-9- 
Washington College, 406. 
Washington County, erected 

1776, ^11- 
Watson, Col. W. H., 334- 
Western lands, Virginia's 
claims denounced, I79' 
Maryland protests against 
claims of Virginia, 202; 
ceded to the U. S., 219. 
Western Maryland College, 

40Q. 

White, Father Andrew, ac- 
companies colonists, 15; 
sent in chains to England, 
46; dies in London, Dec. 
27th, 1656, 47. 

White Plains, battle of, 169. 



Whyte, Wm. Pinckney, U. S. 

senator, 400. 
Wildey, Thomas, 309. 
Williams, Otho H., 152; 
prisoner, 172; given com- 
mand Maryland hne, 229; 
256; collector Port of 
Baltimore, 277. 
Wilmer, Col. L. Allison, 41 5- 
Winder, Col. William, 288. 
Wintour, Edward, 42. 
Wiseman, Henry, 42- 
Woman's College, of Balti- 
more, 410. 
Worcester County, erected, 

91. 

Wright, Solomon, judge 

Court of Appeals, 201. 
Yellow Fever epidemic, 309- 



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